Will Boston’s Ainge affect Paxson future?

Daily Herald’s Mike Inram asks if Boston Celtic’s GM Danny Ainge’s recent health scare would have any impact on Bulls GM John Paxson? Rumors surfaced that Paxson would soon step down as Bulls GM. However, Paxson claims he will be with the organization next year, yes but as GM? I was told by someone in the organization that Paxson could be moved to team President if he wanted to relinquish his GM duties. Gar Forman, Paxson’s assistant would most likely take over at that point. Jerry Reinsdorf was said to not be in favor of Paxson letting go of his GM post but would be very supportive of his decision.

More from Inram’s column:

Who knows whether Ainge’s heart attack was related to the stress any general manager in any pro sport endures? When Garnett was ruled out of the current playoffs with a knee injury last week, was it only coincidental to Ainge falling ill the same day?

Anyway, I still believe that Paxson seriously has considered for a couple of years now becoming the Bulls’ ex-GM. I didn’t believe a New York columnist who reported in February that Paxson would resign after the all-star break.

What I did believe was Paxson would wait until after the season, take a personal inventory of himself and decide to move on to less demanding responsibilities within the Bulls’ organization. This GM job is just too consuming to endure very long all the grief that comes when the team is losing. If health issues are part of the package, is the reward worth the risk?

Ah, but the Bulls’ circumstances changed dramatically the past couple of months. The primary difference is Salmons and Miller arrived to elevate the Bulls from the draft lottery into the playoffs. Paxson’s team became fun again for fans, players and perhaps most significantly him.

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf insisted all along that Paxson was doing a good job, and he certainly would reiterate that today. The impression suddenly and generally became that Paxson would agree to remain the Bulls’ general manager beyond this season with a few tweaks to the job structure.

Ah, but then came Ainge’s so-called “mild” and “minor” heart attack. The news might have made every NBA general manager – heck, every general manager in every sport – rethink his career choice.

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