When John Paxson agreed to take off the headphones and jump from behind a microphone as part of the Bulls’ radio broadcast team to the club’s executive offices last spring, he was well aware that he would someday have to make difficult and painful decisions.

And given the life expectancy of NBA coaches in this “win or be gone” age, Paxson also knew it was likely that he would, at some point, have to tell his longtime pal Bill Cartwright not to bother coming back to work.

After the Bulls stumbled out of the gate with a disappointing 4-10 record, a resigned and dejected Paxson boarded a late night flight bound for Dallas, Texas, to meet his friend to inform him that he was being relieved.

“I knew there would be difficult times on this job, but none harder than replacing a friend,” Paxson said in a statement released by the team later that day. “I have known Bill Cartwright as a teammate, as a colleague and as a friend for nearly as long as I have been in professional basketball. But the decision to relieve Bill was a basketball decision. The team is underperforming, and we have to find ways to win—period.”

Not surprisingly, Cartwright took the bad news in stride.

“What I told Pax is this: ‘I don’t hold any ill will toward you or anybody else. You have to do what makes you feel comfortable,’” said Cartwright. “The team was my responsibility, and I accept that. I told Pax that I was disappointed with the fact that I didn’t get the job done.”

Admired and respected throughout the organization and the league, Cartwright, in his typically classy fashion, privately addressed his assistants and then the team in two separate early morning meetings to inform them of Paxson’s decision.

“I told them I appreciated the work they had done for me,” Cartwright said. “And I told them, ‘Don’t quit.’ I said, ‘You guys are not far away from winning, but you have to believe in yourselves and believe in your teammates.’

“I always knew [being fired] was a possibility. But what’s most frustrating is that I’ve never not finished anything in my life. So leaving now before the team turns it around really hurts.”

After Cartwright said his goodbyes, Paxson addressed the club and basically read them the riot act, letting each and every player know in no uncertain terms that life, as they knew it, was about to change.

“He said he was looking for a new coach that was going to come in and tighten things up,” said assistant coach Pete Myers after the meeting. “And Pax was real adamant about it. He told the guys that the days were over when we respond to you. From this day forward, you’re going to respond to us. I thought it was a great message.”

In place of Cartwright, Bulls GM John Paxson turned to Skiles to direct Chicago’s attack from the sidelines.

“We need some sense of urgency to the season now, to the direction we’re going, and a lot of that is on our guys,” says Paxson. “They have to want the season to turn around and accept the roles the new coach gives them.”

Speculation immediately centered on the recently fired Orlando Magic coach, Doc Rivers, to head the Bulls. But Rivers, a native of suburban Maywood, Illinois, when asked by the media publicly insisted that he was going to take the rest of the season off to spend quality time with his family.

But someone who did want back in the game was former Phoenix Suns coach Scott Skiles, who after talking to Paxson was only too happy to come to town.

“It came down to a couple of names, and Scott’s was at the top of the list,” says Paxson, who also admits to contacting former Atlanta and Cleveland coach Mike Fratello. “I always was intrigued by Scott as a player and his competitive spirit. But I also watched what he did in Phoenix, and I know he can coach the game.”

“[There’s no question] I wanted to work with John Paxson,” Skiles emphatically stated upon his Windy City arrival. “He has a definite philosophy, a way he wants to conduct business. What I like is that everything here is geared toward helping the team win.”

Skiles was known as a hard-nosed competitor when he was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 1986 NBA Draft. He lasted 10 years as an NBA point guard, winning the Most Improved Player award in 1991 after averaging 17.2 points and 8.4 assists for the Orlando Magic. And he still lives in the NBA record book today with the most assists dealt in a single game (30).

Less than two years ago, Skiles stepped down as head coach of the Suns, despite an impressive record of 116-79 in two-plus seasons on the job. Twenty games into the 1999-2000 season, Danny Ainge unexpectedly stepped down as Phoenix’s coach and recommended Skiles, his assistant at the time, as his replacement. The team went 40-22, beating San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns then went 51-31 in his only full season as head coach and were 25-26 the next when Skiles, a little burned out, decided to walk away.

“Scott’s a guy who appreciates hard work, a complete no-nonsense guy,” says Phoenix guard Penny Hardaway, who both played with Skiles (in Orlando) and for Skiles. “Off the floor, he’s a very cool guy, great to be around, really nice. But on the floor he wants you to do your job like a professional.”

Another former player of Skiles’, Tom Gugliotta, is also confident that Paxson got it right with the hiring of the former Michigan State standout with the fiery personality.

“Scott knows a lot about the game and has learned a lot from the experience he had here in Phoenix,” Gugliotta says. “Honestly, I think he’ll adjust and do what he has to make the Bulls a competitive team. I think one of his strongest points is that winning means everything to him, and he’ll do whatever he can to get that team to win.”

Williams has earned the nickname "Junkyard Dog" over his career for his unyielding and ferocious play.

Skiles’ history as an aggressive, in-your-face competitor was more of an attraction than a detriment to Paxson, who often exhibited some of the same characteristics as a player. Paxson has always said that he prefers people who have a presence.

“I’ve said all along I like people who are workers with a little bit of an attitude about them in terms of the game and how it’s played,” Paxson says. “Everything is risk involved, and you can’t afford to make many mistakes, but my whole focus was hiring someone who is good for the team.”

Adds Gugliotta, “All Scott wants is for people to be like him and play like him, scrap out there on the floor.”

Longtime NBA veteran Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached against him when Skiles was a player and watched him in action as a coach while Fitzsimmons was a Suns broadcaster, has always been impressed with Skiles’ basketball acumen.

“I’ve talked to Scott about basketball more than anyone else because he’s a complete junkie,” Fitzsimmons says fondly. “He’s one of these guys who were meant to coach. When he played, he was a coach on the floor. He would be one of these guys who would coach a high school team in Indiana and enjoy it.

“There’s nothing wrong with his style,” Fitzsimmons adds. “Sometimes, there are going to be times when you ruffle people’s feathers. But down deep, every player wants to win. Scott can get players to play for him. All he expects is for you to come to practice and play hard.”

The dust hadn’t settled on Skiles’ hiring when Paxson pulled the trigger on a six-player blockbuster trade with Toronto, sending Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall and Lonny Baxter north of the border in exchange for blue collar veterans Antonio Davis, Jerome “Junkyard Dog” Williams and Chris Jefferies.

“This was one trade that we needed to make,” Paxson asserts. “I didn’t want to give up on the season. I wanted to try to make the change that could help us not only this year but long-term.

“I’ll say this forever,” continues Paxson. “I’m trying to build a team, a group of individuals who play together, play hard and are willing to sacrifice on the floor.”

While the Bulls gave up a lot of offensive firepower, they received proven inside forces in Davis and Williams. Paxson believes the play of those two can’t help but rub off on youngsters Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.

“We gave up talented players,” Paxson readily admits. “This was hard to do, but I think it’s right for the organization right now.”

Davis' savvy and leadership, both on and off the court, has proven to be a perfect fit for the Bulls.

Williams makes the Bulls tougher inside. Nicknamed the “Junkyard Dog,” for his aggressive style of play, Williams’ energy level and enthusiasm can’t help but pump new life into Chicago. In fact, he was in town for only a few hours when he put on a Bulls jersey for the first time, pulled his socks up to his knees and scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and notched a game-high four steals to rally the Bulls to victory over Milwaukee.

“It’s all fun,” Williams said after his Chicago debut. “Chi-town definitely has a few dogs in the house. There’s a certain mentality a dog gets when his socks are above the calf.”

For Davis, the trade to Chicago is a blessing in many ways. Both he and his wife, Kendra, a native of the Chicago area, had been hoping for years that he would someday play for the Bulls so they could settle down here with the rest of their family. Two seasons ago, Davis was close to signing a deal with the Bulls as a free agent before negotiations broke down.

“I’m not going to say that I did not enjoy my time in Toronto,” says Davis, an 11-year veteran. “It was good. They gave me an opportunity to step up and play some good basketball. But all along I wanted to be here in Chicago. In the back of my mind, I was always thinking, ‘Man, if I were to get to Chicago, things would be so much better.’ Family is here, and we’re going to start building a house. I’m really excited.”

There are sure to be many more days of excitement for Bulls players and fans alike. However, it’s safe to say that none of what has recently taken place — the firing of Cartwright and the hiring of Skiles coupled with the big trade — would have taken place had the team met its preseason expectations.

“Yeah, I think it’s on us because they based so much on our future,” guard Jamal Crawford says. “Eddy, Tyson and I are the future of the Chicago Bulls, and had we gotten off to a better start I’m sure Coach Cartwright would still be here today, and there probably wouldn’t have been a trade.”

However, there was a trade and Paxson expects its ripple effect to have a major impact on the future of the franchise.

“The one thing that really sold me on doing the trade was that I didn’t have to give up the core youth of this team,” Paxson says. “We’ve still got Eddy, Tyson and Jamal... We’re still only going to be as good as they become, and I’ll live with that.”

Bulls fans, no doubt, are saying the same.

By Anthony Hyde