The move was all about rewarding Forman and recognizing his growing influence in the front office -- and has little to do with Paxson's role or future with the organization.

Paxson retains his title of executive vice president of Basketball operations and still is the top dog, so to speak, in the front-office hierarchy.

TRAVELING MAN

Forman, who has been a major player behind the scenes for years, will assume more of the day-to-day duties. He'll travel with the team more and will be management's main spokesman in the media.

''This is finalizing a lot of things that we've been working on,'' Paxson said. ''The most noticeable change initially will be that Gar will do more of the talking for the organization from a management perspective. Gar and [coach Vinny Del Negro] will be the voice of the Bulls most of the time. That's better for me.

''Gar's earned this opportunity, and he's being rewarded for his commitment to the Bulls organization and how much he has effected changes over the six years I've been here. The way the league is going, positions in management, there's a lot of things you have to do and cover, and Gar is going to take on a lot of that responsibility now.''

Perhaps the biggest question is who will have the final say on personnel decisions. According to Paxson, nothing will change: They will discuss things as a staff and try to come to a consensus -- just as they've done since he was hired in 2003.

''I never looked at it as my decision,'' he said.

Unless a major trade suddenly materializes, this doesn't figure to be an especially busy offseason, but Forman's biggest task will be trying to re-sign shooting guard Ben Gordon.

''We like Ben,'' Forman said. ''Ben's a key, key component to our team. He's our kind of guy. He's got great makeup and character and a great work ethic, and obviously he's a very talented player.

''So our goal is to re-sign Ben Gordon. In the conversations that we've had, I think Ben wants to stay in Chicago and be with the Bulls . There are still a lot of steps until we get to that point in July, but that's certainly one of our goals.''

Forman handled most of the negotiations with Gordon's agent, Raymond Brothers, the previous two summers without success, but he doesn't believe the failure to reach an agreement on a long-term deal will affect this summer's talks.

''Raymond understands, like I do, that every negotiation is a new negotiation,'' Forman said. ''Having read some of his comments and Ben's comments, I think they would say the same thing. It's going to be a new negotiation, but Ben will know that we would like to have him back.''

Because of NBA rules, the Bulls can't begin negotiating with Gordon until July. Forman's first official duties as GM will be evaluating players who might be available when the Bulls' two first-round picks (Nos. 16 and 26) come up in next month's draft.

A DEEP DRAFT

Despite the team not having a top-10 pick for the first time since 2005, Forman believes the draft is deep enough to produce two players who can play roles for the Bulls for years to come and perhaps as soon as next season.

They planned to begin working out potential draftees this morning, and Forman couldn't wait to get started.

''The goal is to get better,'' he said. ''We want to get our team better. We like where we're at, we like our core, but we're going to look at all options as far as improvement is concerned.''

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