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Reggie's unexpected, critical comments overshadowed the Bulls' 86-67 loss to the Heat at the United Center and resonated so loudly that Derrick Rose felt compelled to issue a comment before tipoff. "I have always felt that the Bulls organization's goals have been the same as mine and that is to bring another championship to this city,'' Derrick said. The Bulls released the succinct, 25-word statement after team officials John Paxson and Gar Forman stopped Derrick in a hallway after a pre-game shootaround and ushered him into a private room. Five minutes later, D-Rose emerged but declined to comment as he breezed past reporters. Reggie Rose sat in his usual courtside seat behind the west basket and bristled when I approached him during a first-quarter timeout to discuss his inflammatory comments. Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, John Paxson, Gar Forman, Reggie Rose 

"Reggie, do you have anything you want to add to your comments today?'' I asked. "No comment,'' he answered. "Do you regret anything you said?'' "What would I regret?'' "That you put Derrick in an uncomfortable spot.'' "That's my brother. That's my brother who you say I put in an uncomfortable spot.'' Reggie's eyes widened and he paused. "Remember that!'' he said. "No comment.'' Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, John Paxson, Gar Forman, Reggie Rose 

With that, Reggie Rose turned away to watch his brother's Bulls teammates he disrespected get blown out by the defending NBA champs. It would be wrong to say Bulls players were distracted. It would be exaggerating to say Paxson or Forman were miffed; Paxson even tried making a joke. Frustrated or not, both officials stressed what everybody in the Bulls organization suggested: Those comments sound like Reggie but not Derrick, who Paxson said never has complained about the roster. Remember, Derrick was the guy who embraced the status quo enough to lobby publicly to keep Keith Bogans before the 2011-12 season. Keith Bogans. Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, John Paxson, Gar Forman, Reggie Rose 

Reggie Rose, the older brother of Derrick, did acknowledge the team's two all-stars, Deng and Joakim Noah, but suggested the Bulls should have made a move before the trade deadline. “I don’t know if it did (distract any players), but we didn’t talk about it as a team," Deng said. I don’t think that was the problem." Arlington Heights Daily Herald

Chicago Bulls, Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, John Paxson, Gar Forman, Reggie Rose 

“Joakim Noah is a great player. Luol Deng is a great player. But you need more than that. You have to put together pieces to your main piece. The players can only do so much. It’s up to the organization to make them better. … It’s frustrating to see my brother play his heart and soul out for the team and them not put anything around him.” Coincidentally, the Rose-less Bulls host the Heat tonight at the United Center after already beating them in their first meeting of the season, 96-89, back on Jan. 4. “We’ve had great communication with Derrick, and we’ve never heard anything like that from Derrick,’’ Paxson said prior to the meeting with Derrick. “And that’s all that matters. Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, John Paxson, Reggie Rose 

Executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson doubts his team will make a significant move at the trade deadline and said the return of former MVP Derrick Rose figures to be their big move. "We're up against what's called a hard cap," Paxson said Friday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "In order for us to do something we're not in a position to take on any real salary so we're kind of limited in what we can do. I think our team has grown -- it's not always pretty, let's face it; we've had some ugly games this year and that's kind of who we are right now. But we do grind it out and play hard. "You're always on the lookout to do certain things, but I think our move hopefully will be bringing Derrick back into the fold." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Trade, Derrick Rose, John Paxson 

John Paxson, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations, witnessed this scene and was asked if expectations are moving too fast given how prudent the organization is regarding Rose's return. "Expectations are going to come from every angle," Paxson said. "We're going to remain patient. Until we get him into real practice situations for an extended period of time and see how his body responds, we're not even going to come up with a plan for him to play. "Our priority is to make sure he's healthy and he's healthy for the long term. Everything will be dictated by that." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Injuries, John Paxson 

Rose, for example, is dying to get back on the court and firmly believes he can make a title run this season, even though the Bulls, collectively, are a worse team than the one he came up short with last season. His advisers are the ones trying to slow his roll, asking him to take the long view and give his knee another full summer of work before subjecting it to the rigors of NBA competition. RGIII clearly has the same competitive mentality, which is why it's vital someone with a more sober and objective view take the wheel. "Someone has to be the adult in the room," said an NBA source. Sulia

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Injuries, John Paxson 

Vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman carefully assembled a roster that fit together seamlessly when everybody was healthy, which was rare last season. They undoubtedly tried to build this roster just as meticulously, but whether this one will be as successful as last season’s version remains to be seen. Complicating the process is the void left by Rose’s absence, which extends beyond his considerable ability. Rose is the player most responsible for setting the pace and holding teammates to a high standard, which he won’t be able to do until he recovers from ACL surgery, and nobody, least of all Rose, knows when that might be. In the meantime, he’s going to try to lead from the training room, which is never easy. In a way, Thibodeau is preparing his team for two seasons --- one without Rose and one when Rose returns, which only increases the degree of difficulty. Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Bulls, Coaching, John Paxson, Gar Forman 

Pat Riley leads all executives by far. Paxson and Sund come behind. HoopsHype

Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Pat Riley, John Paxson, Rick Sund 

I’ve covered pro sports for 20 years and never have been around a more hard-working or tighter-knit group of athletes than these Bulls. From Rose to Brian Scalabrine, these guys genuinely care about and play for each other. There’s real value in that. The respect around the league for the Bulls is off the charts. To find a group of players that plays as hard and unselfishly as this team does is extremely rare at any level in any sport, which is why vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman will be reluctant to compromise what the Bulls have built. Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Bulls, Brian Scalabrine, John Paxson, Gar Forman 

In his postgame remarks, 76ers coach Doug Collins referenced Bulls vice president John Paxson, who left the team briefly for a long-planned procedure to address an arrhythmia issue. “He’s like a son to me,” Collins said. “Pax is so much the guts of that organization, and I just want to send out prayers to him.” Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, John Paxson 

Paxson, who is intensively private, responded in a statement, making clear the issue is of the outpatient variety. “I have an arrhythmia issue I’m trying to get corrected,” Paxson said. “It’s something I’ve had before and planned this procedure over one month ago. Nothing more to it than that and had not intended for it to be made public.” Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, John Paxson 

In his postgame remarks, 76ers coach Doug Collins referenced Bulls vice president John Paxson, who left the team briefly for a long-planned procedure to address an arrhythmia issue. “He’s like a son to me,” Collins said. “Pax is so much the guts of that organization, and I just want to send out prayers to him.” Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, John Paxson 

“I have an arrhythmia issue I’m trying to get corrected,” Paxson said. “It’s something I’ve had before and planned this procedure over one month ago. Nothing more to it than that and had not intended for it to be made public.” Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, John Paxson 

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard doesn't seem to have interest in bringing his talents to Chicago. But that doesn't mean the Bulls' front office is no longer interested in acquiring the top center in the NBA. "We don't want to talk about other teams' players but obviously there are situations out there that you know that you have to look at," VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN radio WMVP-AM 1000 Wednesday. "The other part of it is you hope those types of players want to come here. Sometimes, at least what you hear from agents, it doesn't have anything to do with basketball. It has more to do with marketing and whatnot. Those are the things you don't have under control when an agent gets involved and doesn't even want to talk to you. All you do is keep trying, and we certainly will." CSN Chicago

Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Trade, Dwight Howard, John Paxson 

However it has come to be, Smith feels he’s never been freer. When Bulls executive John Paxson and former coach Vinny Del Negro got into an embarrassing scuffle last April, Smith deconstructed the entire affair on his blog. The same incident snagged the Tribune’s Bulls beat writer, K. C. Johnson, who was criticized after it was revealed that he knew about the fight weeks before it became public, but opted to sit on it. Columbia Journalism Review

Chicago Bulls, Vinny Del Negro, Media, John Paxson, Sam Smith 

Mike McGraw: John Paxson was third in exec of year voting, which makes little sense. I guess Gar/Pax technically finished first. Twitter

Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Pat Riley, John Paxson, Gar Forman 

Scott Howard-Cooper: If peers voted Foreman of Bulls, along w/ Riley, Exec of Year and Paxson 3rd, does that mean fellow execs don't know who's in charge in CHI? Twitter

Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Pat Riley, John Paxson, Gar Forman 

Building around a core of Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, Forman replaced 11 of the 15 players and hired Tom Thibodeau to replace Del Negro. The Bulls went 62-20 -- the best record in the NBA -- and are among the contenders in a wide-open playoff for the NBA championship. Rose flourished under the defensive-minded Thibodeau and won the league's Most Valuable Player Award. Thibodeau won the Coach of the year Award. And Noah was named to the All-Defensive second team. ''It's not just me,'' Forman told the Sun-Times. ''Our whole staff works together. Everybody from our scouting staff to John [Paxson], Tom [Thibodeau] and the coaching staff, there's constant communication.'' Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, John Paxson, Gar Forman