Paxson says he stands behind playoff goal, supports Boylen
The Bulls are a self-proclaimed playoff contender that owned a 9-18 record heading into Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers. They also have an active roster that includes one guy (Thaddeus Young) who has ever been a consistently good NBA player, so what else should anyone expect, realistically?
Crowds at the United Center are dwindling, coach Jim Boylen is taking the brunt of the fan base frustration, and executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson has largely stayed out of public view this season.
Paxson spoke to beat writers individually on Saturday to discuss the state of the Bulls, among other topics. Here are some excerpts from his holiday card, so to speak, to Bulls fans. There will be more from Mike McGraw's interview with Paxson in Monday's paper:
Question: To me, talking about making the playoffs before training camp was a bad idea. This roster has plenty of flaws, but now people are understandably asking why the Bulls are not performing like a playoff team. Why say that?
Paxson: "When we talked about this, after the summer we had and after the September we had with our staff, the players believed that as well. And you want your players believing that. What we talked about was competing to be a playoff team. We still have 50-some games - maybe it's reality, maybe it's not. If it turns out not to be what happens, then that's what happens.
"But none of us regret saying that. It's a challenge to your group, it's a challenge to everybody in the organization. That's where we thought we could be if things went the right way for us, if guys were improving. There's still time for that, but I'm realistic in looking at this. I know we have issues that we have to address. But a lot of it is internal in terms of our young players stepping up."
Q: Coach Jim Boylen seems to be taking the brunt of fans' frustrations right now. There was a video clip making the rounds on Twitter of him staring back at a fan who was yelling taunts after Friday's game. What are your thoughts on what he's going through right now?
Paxson: "Coaches, this happens to them all the time. He's just got to be tone-deaf to it. The people he has to answer to and listen to are myself, Jerry and Michael (Reinsdorf). We committed to him this offseason and we're not wavering from that. He's very receptive to ideas and opinions and he wants to grow as a coach. He just has to keep his focus on getting us better.
"I'm confident that's what he believes in and what he's made of. We're all in this together. Players too. Players have to take ownership of their role of things as coaches do and I do. The only way you get better is if you all own it and you all work together to get better."
Q: For several years, you talked about the benefits of having financial flexibility, meaning cap space and reasonable contracts that would allow you to make other moves. Then you traded for Otto Porter, who's injured and owed $55 million over two years. Why did you not stick to your own game plan?
Paxson: "The reason we took on Otto at that time was we felt he was a huge upgrade to our roster. I hear what you're saying about the plan itself. But we haven't deviated from our drafts and getting young players to develop. That remains consistent. There's no quick fix to something like this. The internal growth has to be there. Now have some of our guys maybe not played at a level that we need them to play at? They certainly haven't consistently and we need that to improve and that's what our coaching staff works with them on every day."
Q: You took a step back about 10 years ago, let Gar Forman run things for a few years, then came back. Where are you at with your commitment level to this job?
Paxson: "I'm doing great. I felt there was a void that needed to be filled in terms of communication and leadership and I accept it, I own it. I'm just working every day to try to get it right."