John Paxson Quotations

Whether they choose to go out and get an offer sheet (the Bulls can match), I don't want that to happen. I think they want to be here. I expect us to sit down and negotiate and get a deal done that's good for them and good for us.

Last year, we had a lot of new, young faces. It was Scott's first training camp with them. But now they've spent a whole year with Scott. We had some success. Now we should be able to step on the practice floor this week and have the attitude we're going to pick up where we left off.

If we didn't explore all of our options, it wouldn't be in the best interests of the team.

But the thing I know about our group is that they will compete. They will get down and dirty and get after it.

From a basketball standpoint, I understand what I'm doing. But I have an obligation to this organization and the people I work for to do the right thing. And I did the right thing. That's all I've got to say.

For what we're working for, he's a key component, a component that defensively could be special down the road.

He would have an above-average lifestyle that would put him in a position that most other people aren't in,

What we have available to us now in terms of technology is unprecedented. With that said, I'm not sure there is a foolproof way of safeguarding against something that could possibly go undetected in an athlete and that is the greatest concern.

Kirk is a very big piece of this team's foundation. He is a great leader for our team both on and off the floor and I am very excited to watch him develop.

It is going to have to get done by Wednesday or not at all. I'm still trying and hope to have it done.

I respect the fact that he wants to play. We're also paying his contract, and we have the right to make sure it's the best thing for us. If we can get some financial relief out of the deal, then we'll certainly look into that.

represented the first change, but not necessarily the last.

I would never put a player on the floor in a Chicago Bulls uniform if I didn't do everything in my power to find out all the information that was available. You can debate genetic testing till you're blue in the face. But from what I know, from what I've learned over the last six months, that test could have helped us determine the best course of action.

You can have a team full of guys who play hard and hustle, ... But let's not fool ourselves. You need talent to win.

We've done everything in our power to be protective of Eddy, show our concern and passion for him,

We're not under any obligation to anything we don't want to. I respect the fact that he wants to play. We're also playing his contract, and we have the right to make sure it's the best thing for us.

Tyson's play last season was an important factor to our success and we hope to take the next step forward with Tyson being a major contributor to our team.

Tyson is very important to our future. We think his best days are ahead of him.

We are working on a way to resolve it. My only issue is I don't want Tim to go to a direct competitor with us -- someone we're chasing, whatever.

We are trying to get better and we are trying to do it the right way without making some crazy mistakes that other teams have made and have really become difficult to recover from.

We're very happy that we have come to terms with Tyson and that he will remain a member of the Chicago Bulls, ... Tyson's play last season was an important factor to our success and we hope to take the next step forward with Tyson being a major contributor to our team.

Everybody tried to make this an ethical employer-employee issue, which we never thought about. We wanted to do everything we possibly could to safely put him back on the floor. We were never allowed to do that.

At some point, I think everybody has to accept the fact we're in this business to get to the playoffs, ... It's important we put expectations on these guys because there hasn't been any real urgency to start the season the last five years.

I've been talking to a lot of teams. But there are a lot of people in the same boat: Is there something they can do that helps but maybe strap them for the future? Hopefully there is something in the next week that we can do that can make us better. But if there's not, there's not.

The bottom line, ... is if Eddy had not had any incident and a doctor hadn't suggested it, we wouldn't be asking for it.

That's when teams try to make over their roster more than any other time.

This is his time. He's four years into the league, and now he has a chance to prove it.

This has been about as uncomfortable and unusual a situation I could ever imagine,

It's coming to a point where next week, there's going to be a decision made.

It's always unfortunate. I have as high a regard for Antonio as I do for anyone. I think he is as professional as they come in our business. His reaction was based on what he saw, and I don't fault that at all.

It's hurting me that Eddy's now saying that we didn't care about him. It's painful because Eddy's a good guy. We were trying to do the right thing for him, and for us, but more for him. As time went on, people were trying to get in the middle of it or trying to convince him we were trying not to do right by him. And reading his comments now, I really do get the feeling that that he believes that we betrayed him.

It's hurting me that Eddy's now saying that we didn't care about him, ... It's painful because Eddy's a good guy. We were trying to do the right thing for him, and for us, but more for him. As time went on, people were trying to get in the middle of it or trying to convince him we were trying not to do right by him. And reading his comments now, I really do get the feeling that that he believes that we betrayed him.

This is a very easy decision for the organization and I am extremely excited to watch these players continue to develop as Chicago Bulls.

It's negligent not to take the test. Though it cannot rule anything out absolutely, it is something we all could use to help figure this out.

I never think about it. You can't. What's done is done. It's over and done with.

In essence, our guys are complementary-type players. We still have to find a mix that works and is balanced.

In this business, things don't always happen at the pace you would like, but I knew from the onset that we would make this happen and Jeff Schwartz played a key role in the negotiations.

I don't now if there's a correct answer.

The two most important things to athletes, playing time and money.

I do like our young talent here, but it needs to get better. And we need some better veterans if we can go out and get them. We all get discouraged by losing. I sit there every game and see the little things that happen and you feel like they cost you games. But the reality is that we are still some time away from being what I hope we can be. And that's going to take some good decision-making on our part.

Magic Johnson is the best player who plays on the ground, and Michael Jordan is the best player who plays in the air.

That`s instinct, you catch and you shoot. I`ve done it hundreds of thousands of times in my driveway. It`s what I`ve practiced.

All I can say is we expect to have different directions that we can go in this summer. What we have to decide is which would allow us to achieve our ultimate goal ? to become a championship contender, and sustain that long-term.