John Paxson

John MacBeth Paxson (born September 29, 1960) is an American basketball administrator and former player who has been Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association since 2009, after serving as team general manager from 2003 to 2009.

High school career

Paxson attended Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio, following in the footsteps of his elder brother, Jim, who would go onto a star career at the University of Dayton, and, later, in the NBA, as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. By his senior year, John was considered one of the top guards in the country and was named to the 1979 McDonald's All-American Team, joining such future college and NBA standouts as Isiah Thomas, James Worthy and Byron Scott in the game.

College career

Paxson played collegiate basketball at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. In 1980-81, his sophomore year, Paxson led the Fighting Irish in assists with a career-high 138 that season. He earned his first All-America recognition as a junior in 1981-82, averaging 16.4 points and dishing out 4.7 assists. The following year, Paxson led Notre Dame to a 19-10 record, averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game and tallying 112 assists en route to claiming his second All-America selection. He also helped guide the team to NCAA appearances in 1980 and 1981. For his career, he was a .526 shooter from the field, presaging his sharpshooting prowess in the pros. He finished his four-year stint at Notre Dame with 1,366 points (19th in Notre Dame history), 411 assists (seventh), 133 steals (eighth), 86 games started (13th), and field goal percentage (20th). His four-year average was 12.2 points per game.

Vlade Divac

Vlade Divac (Serbian Cyrillic: Владе Дивац, pronounced [ʋlǎːde dǐːʋats]) (born February 3, 1968) is a retired Serbian professional basketball player and is currently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings.

Divac spent most of his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 7 ft 1 in, he played center and was known for his passing skills. Divac was among the first group of European basketball players to transfer to the NBA in the late 1980s and was named one of the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors. Divac is one of seven players in NBA history to record 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol and Hakeem Olajuwon. Divac was also the first player born and trained outside the United States to play in over 1,000 games in the NBA. On August 20, 2010, Divac was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his play in international competition.

Gar Forman

Gar Forman is an American basketball executive for the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. Forman was named GM in 2009 after being in the organization for 11 years as a scout, director of player personnel, and special assistant to executive vice-president of basketball operations. On May 10, 2011 Gar Forman won the NBA Executive of the Year Award, along with Miami Heat President Pat Riley.

Chicago Bulls

Gar Forman was named General Manager of the Chicago Bulls on May 21, 2009. As General Manager, Forman supervises player personnel, coaching, scouting, training, and administration. During the summer of 2010, Forman led the charge to reload a Bulls squad after two consecutive .500 seasons and early playoff exits. Forman and the Bulls signed free agents Carlos Boozer (Utah), Kyle Korver (Utah), Ronnie Brewer (Utah), Ömer Aşık (Turkey), and Kurt Thomas (Milwaukee), while trading for C. J. Watson (Golden State). Those free agents were added to the Bulls' young core of players including Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Taj Gibson. On June 23, 2010, Forman also named Tom Thibodeau the 18th head coach of the Chicago Bulls. During his tenure with the Bulls (as General Manager, and previously as Director of Player Personnel), Forman oversaw the drafting of Taj Gibson (First Team All-Rookie 2010), Derrick Rose (NBA Rookie of the Year 2009 and 2011 MVP), Kirk Hinrich (NBA All-Defense Team 2007 ), and Ben Gordon (NBA Sixth Man of the Year 2005).