Bulls' roster overhaul may take time

Whether the Bulls ultimately select Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley in Thursday's NBA draft, most observers expect general manager John Paxson to move quickly toward cleaning up an overcrowded roster.

For example, if the Bulls select Rose, at least one of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon or Larry Hughes figures to leave.

Not so fast, Paxson warned outside the Berto Center on Tuesday. He promised to lay off any trades until the status of restricted free agents Gordon and Luol Deng are settled.

"We need to take this kind of step-by-step now," Paxson said. "How those (negotiations) play out in large part will determine what we do after that."

The Bulls can begin negotiating with Deng and Gordon on July 1. With the right to match an offer sheet from another team, the Bulls won't let either player leave for nothing in return.

But the players could sign a one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Sign-and-trade deals are also possible. Paxson would prefer to get new contracts settled quickly, but it's common for restricted free agency to linger well into August.

"We have to be real careful, I think, not to make any snap decisions (on trades)," Paxson said. "You don't want to jump into something, make a move and then a year from now if something doesn't work out, you don't have a roster you're very happy with."

Coaches in waiting: The Bulls are hoping to have a complete coaching staff in place by the end of the week.

General manager John Paxson is planning to fill one spot with a former head coach to help guide first-timer Vinny Del Negro. Among the candidates are Del Harris, Paul Westphal, Bob Hill and Bernie Bickerstaff.

"We've had very good interviews," Paxson said. "We're obviously trying to have at least one veteran head coach with Vinny to give him that knowledge and game management type of ability on the sidelines. The rest of the staff will fall into place."

Pax has plans for Tyrus: While discussing the variety of learning curves for NBA rookies on Tuesday, Bulls general manager John Paxson tossed in an endorsement for forward Tyrus Thomas, the No. 4 pick of the 2006 draft. Some reports have labeled Thomas trade bait after a couple of inconsistent seasons.

"I got nailed after we drafted Tyrus," Paxson said. "I said at that time it's like drafting a high school player and it's going to take some time and he's taken some time. But we still feel he's got a real chance to be a player. This is going to be a big year for him."

Maybe Paxson has had dreams of Thomas finishing alley-oop passes from potential No. 1 pick Derrick Rose.