John Paxson
This past season, John Paxson concluded six years of General Manager duties for the Chicago Bulls ... John will remain at the forefront of the organization in his role as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations ... he will work in tandem with new General Manager Gar Forman in efforts to bring the Bulls back to one of the elite teams in the NBA ... named Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations on April 14, 2003 … Paxson has been a part of the organization as a player, coach, broadcaster or front office executive since 1985 … Paxson is the sixth individual to head basketball operations in the history of the Chicago Bulls, joining Dick Klein (1966-69), Pat Williams (1969-73), Dick Motta (1973-76), Rod Thorn (1978-85) and Jerry Krause (1985-2003) … Paxson has positively implemented change upon the Bulls roster, coaching staff and basketball operations department, with the Bulls making playoff appearances in four of his six years as head of basketball operations (2005-08) … in 2004-05, the Bulls won 47 games (a 24-game improvement from the previous season) with 13 of his player acquisitions leading the way … in overseeing five NBA Drafts (the Bulls were without a pick in 2005), Paxson has selected three NBA First-Team All-Rookie selections … in 2003, with his first draft pick, he selected Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich with the seventh selection … Hinrich was selected to the All-Rookie First Team … in 2004, at the helm for his second draft, Paxson chose Connecticut guard Ben Gordon third overall and traded for the draft rights to Duke forward Luol Deng, selected seventh overall … in Gordon’s rookie season he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year and Deng joined Gordon on the NBA All-Rookie First Team … Paxson drafted Memphis guard Derrick Rose with the first overall pick in NBA Draft 2008, Rose went on to be named 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year … also active on the free agent front, Paxson signed Spanish League star Andrés Nocioni prior to the 2004-05 season and watched the Argentina native significantly bolster the Bulls’ frontline … Paxson has also proven an adept player in the free agent market, signing four-time All-Star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace in the summer of 2006 … John spent seven seasons as a color analyst on both the Bulls’ radio and television networks, providing expert analysis to Bulls’ broadcasts … spent one season (1995-96) as an assistant coach, helping the Bulls to an NBA-record 72-10 mark and the 1996 NBA World Championship … Paxson spent nine of his 11 NBA seasons as a player with Chicago, helping the Bulls to three consecutive NBA World Championships (1991, 1992, 1993) … for his career, he averaged 7.2 ppg, 3.6 apg and 1.2 rpg in 772 games, including 369 starting assignments, shooting .499 from the floor, including .355 from three-point range, and .804 from the free-throw line … enjoyed a career year for the Bulls in 1986-87, averaging a career-high 11.3 ppg (third on the team), to accompany a team-leading 5.7 apg, shooting .487 from the floor, .371 from three-point range (with a career-high 52 three-point field goals) and .809 from the free-throw line … he shot a career-high .548, finishing 10th in the NBA, en route to averaging 8.7 ppg and 3.6 apg in helping the Bulls to a then-franchise record 61 victories in 1990-91 … shot a sizzling .650 from the floor in the Bulls’ first NBA Finals appearance and capped the experience with a memorable 20-point performance on a spotless 8-of-8 from the floor in the title-clinching game five over the Los Angeles Lakers, including 10 points in the final 3:54 of the contest … Paxson was also responsible for one of the most memorable shots in NBA history during the 1993 NBA Finals, sinking a game- and series-winning three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining to defeat the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix, giving the Bulls their third straight NBA World Championship … his NBA career began after being selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round (19th overall) of the 1983 NBA Draft … he became a Bull after signing as a free agent on Oct. 30, 1985 … a 1983 graduate of the University of Notre Dame … played four seasons at Notre Dame and was a two-time first-team All-American during his tenure … the Fighting Irish award the John Paxson Three-Point Shooting Award each season to their top three-point shooter … he still ranks among Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorers and averaged 12.2 ppg, shooting .526 from the floor for his four-year career … as a senior, Paxson captained the Irish to a 19-10 record and averaged a career-high 17.7 ppg, shooting .533 from the floor ... John’s father Jim, played two seasons in the NBA during the 1950’s (1956-58) … John and his wife, Carolyn, reside in Lake Bluff, Ill., and have two sons, Ryan and Drew.
Draft Picks
2003: Kirk Hinrich (seventh), Mario Austin (36th), Matt Bonner (45th) – traded to Toronto, Tommy Smith (53rd)
2004: Ben Gordon (third), Jackson Vroman (31st) – traded to Phoenix, Chris Duhon (36th)
2006: LaMarcus Aldridge (second) – traded to Portland, Rodney Carney (16th) – traded to Philadelphia
2007: Joakim Noah (9th), Aaron Gray (49th), JamesOn Curry (51st)
2008: Derrick Rose (first), Sonny Weems (39th) – traded to Denver
Free Agent Signees
Malik Allen, Eddie Basden, Corie Blount, Tyson Chandler, Jamal Crawford*, Eddy Curry*, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Ronald Dupree, Lawrence Funderburke, Kendall Gill, Stephen Graham, Adrian Griffin, Othella Harrington, Kirk Hinrich, Randy Holcomb, Linton Johnson III, Randy Livingston, Demetris Nichols, Andrés Nocioni, Jannero Pargo, Scottie Pippen, Jared Reiner, Luke Schenscher, Paul Shirley, Joe Smith, Darius Songaila, James Thomas, Gary Trent and Ben Wallace.
* indicates the player re-signed with Chicago in a sign-and-trade deal with another team; bold indicates free agent signee is still on Chicago’s roster
Trades
- June 26, 2003 – Conveyed to Toronto the draft rights to No. 45 pick Matt Bonner in exchange for a future second round selection.
- December 1, 2003 – Acquired Antonio Davis, Chris Jeffries and Jerome Williams from Toronto in exchange for Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall and Lonny Baxter.
- December 16, 2003 – Acquired Rick Brunson from Toronto in exchange for Roger Mason, Jr.
- June 24, 2004 – Acquired the draft rights to No. 7 pick Luol Deng from Phoenix in exchange for a future conditional first-round pick, the draft rights to 31st pick Jackson Vroman and cash considerations.
- August 5, 2004 – Acquired Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington, Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski from New York in exchange for Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams.
- September 8, 2004 – Acquired Eric Piatkowski, Adrian Griffin and Mike Wilks from Houston in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo.
- October 4, 2005 – Conveyed to the New York Knicks the contract of Antonio Davis and the signed-and-traded contract of Eddy Curry. In exchange, New York conveyed to Chicago the contracts of Tim Thomas and Michael Sweetney, the signed-and-traded contract of Jermaine Jackson, New York’s conditional 2006 first-round pick and New York’s regular second-round draft choice in 2007 and 2009. June 28, 2006 – Acquired the draft rights to No. 4 pick Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa from Portland in exchange for the draft rights to No. 2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge and a future second-round pick.
- June 28, 2006 – Acquired the draft rights to No. 13 pick Thabo Sefolosha from Philadelphia for the draft rights to No. 16 pick Rodney Carney, New York’s 2007 second-round pick and cash.
- July 14, 2006 – Acquired P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith from New Orleans/Oklahoma City for Tyson Chandler.
- July 20, 2006 – Traded J.R. Smith to Denver in exchange for two future second-round draft picks.
- August 18, 2006 – Acquired Martynas Andriuskevicius from Cleveland in exchange for Eddie Basden.
- February 21, 2008 – Acquired Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons from Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and Chicago’s 2009 regular second round draft pick; also traded Adrian Griffin to Seattle.
- June 26, 2008 – Acquired the draft rights to No. 36 pick Omer Asik from Portland in exchange for the draft rights to No. 39 pick Sonny Weems, along with Denver’s 2009 regular second-round pick, New York’s 2009 regular second-round pick and Chicago’s 2010 regular second-round draft pick.
- February 18, 2009 – Acquired center/forward Brad Miller and guard/forward John Salmons from the Sacramento Kings for forward Andres Nocioni, forward/center Drew Gooden, forward Cedric Simmons and forward/center Michael Ruffin.
- February, 19, 2009 – Acquired forward Tim Thomas, center Jerome James and guard Anthony Roberson from the New York Knicks in exchange for guard Larry Hughes. Traded guard Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 first-round draft pick.