John Paxson has done a lot of studying in his first two weeks as the Bulls' operations chief, but there's one move he didn't need much time to consider.

Paxson would like to get Michael Jordan back to the Bulls in some capacity.

"I would leave that open for him anytime," said Paxson, who has played phone tag with Jordan since succeeding Jerry Krause on April 14. "I think Jerry [Reinsdorf] would, too. I hope someday that does happen."

John Paxson's crash course on NBA general managing continues Thursday when he leaves for four days in Greece to scout top European prospect Darko Milicic.

The trip will conclude a busy first three weeks on the job.

Paxson has talked to every player's agent and every rival general manager. And in a move that was expected, he informed assistant coach Bill Berry on Monday that his contract would not be renewed for next season.

Michael Jordan has just one game left in his storied NBA career with his matchup Wednesday at Philadelphia.

USA TODAY NBA writer David DuPree has counted down 10 memorable MJ moments before each of Jordan's final 10 regular season games as basketball's brightest star concludes his storied career including a couple painful games against Utah.

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that new Bulls GM Jon Paxson isn't quite sure that Jamal Crawford and Jay Williams can play alongside one another.

"Two small guards, it's tough to play them together all the time,'' Paxson said. "But there are situations where it can happen.

"I don't want to lump it all into one thing--can they or can't they? I do believe they can. But all the time, probably not.''

Crawford is up for a contract extension this summer and that is one of the first things Paxson will have to address.

"You have until Oct. 31 to sign him to an extension,'' Paxson said. "He's played well.

"You have to find out where he's at [in contract demands]. I called [Goodwin] to introduce myself, which I'm in the process of doing with all our guys' agents.''

Crawford is said to be seeking a six-year extension.

"It's all up to Chicago,'' Goodwin said. "Jamal has played himself into a situation where there's a lot of interest.

"He's showing he's one of the top guards out there. It's a good situation for Chicago if Chicago wants to step up and extend his contract, and it's a good situation for Jamal to test the free-agent market if they don't extend him.''

While Crawford and his agent know the amount of years they would like to see, they are not ready to throw out a monetary figure, which could be the max amount should Crawford continue to develop. That would pose somewhat of a problem for Paxson with Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler likely seeking max contracts after next season.

"Not everybody can be paid maximum salary,'' Paxson said. "These guys haven't tasted winning yet. They don't understand how good that feels and how special it is to be a part of a team that does win. That's why you're in a hurry to win.

"That may sound like an idealistic thing, but I'm going to at least try to approach these guys in that manner.''

Money may not be a problem though, as Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has said he would pay the luxury tax for a championship team.

"What Jerry told me was it's not so much about making money, but he certainly doesn't want to lose money,'' Paxson said. "The luxury tax becomes a problem.

"As he proved the last time around when this team won, he's more than willing to spend money.''

Forget Michael Jordan making a return to Chicago as the man pulling the strings on the Bulls, because while he was playing in his career home finale in Washington Jerry Reinsdorf was announcing that his next general manager was John Paxson, Jordan's backcourt running mate of the team's first three-peat.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes: Paxson was officially introduced as the executive vice president of basketball operations at a news conference Monday. He replaces Jerry Krause, who resigned unexpectedly a week ago, citing health reasons.

"I'm tremendously excited about this opportunity," Paxson said. "To me, the only goal is to win. I don't have any expectations other than that."

Reinsdorf said Paxson's hiring was an easy one, and although certain individuals didn't know it he was interviewing in secret for some time.

?I knew for the last three years that this was going to be Jerry [Krause?s] last contract. Rather than wait until the last moment, for the last three years, knowing I had a couple to go, I have been interviewing people. They didn?t know that I was interviewing them, but I developed a list of potential candidates that I thought I was going to have to tap in 2004 (after Jerry Krause?s contract was up). When Jerry told me a week or so ago that he had to step down, I had my candidates listed already in my mind and I had my interviews with all of them. It was just a matter of refreshing my memory and having one or two conversations to come to the conclusion that I came to?and it was a very easy conclusion.?

Paxson, who has been a member of the organization for 17 of the last 18 years, knows the Bulls better than most.  He served this season as a radio analyst for the Bulls, allowing him to see every game and form an opinion of what areas the team needs to work on.

?There is no question this team has great talent. It?s young and it?s unharnessed in a lot of ways but it's terrific talent. I think about Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Jamal Crawford, Jay Williams and you think about Marcus Fizer if he had him for an entire year; there are a lot of positives that you can take out of this. The only thing I can really say is that we are going to do what we have to do to make the team better.?

There will also be expanded roles for former teammate B.J. Armstrong, Gar Foreman and Ivica Dukan. Armstrong and Forman were special assistants to Krause, while Dukan is the supervisor of international scouting.

"I think their jobs all became more important today because of how far behind I am," Paxson said. "We have a real solid staff, a very solid staff. People I'm comfortable with, people I'm excited about working with."

Though there was some thought Armstrong might be in line to replace Krause after being his assistant for three years, Armstrong said he has no problem with his role.

"I'm really excited and really looking forward to the opportunity to work with this man," Armstrong said. "This is about these kids, our organization, our willingness to do whatever is necessary to be terms a success."

Before the Wizards game against the Miami Heat, Michael Jordan had his jersey retired at American Airlines Arena reports the Associated Press.

"In honor of your greatness and for all you've done for the game of basketball ? and not just the NBA, but for all the fans around the world ? we want to honour you tonight and hang your jersey, No. 23, from the rafters," Riley said at midcourt. "No one will ever wear No. 23 for the Miami Heat. You're the best."

Riley said the number 23, which was the first number ever retired in Heat history, would not be worn by anyone ever again.

The jersey that hung in the rafters was half a Bulls uniform and half a Wizards uniform.

The Wizards won the game 91-87.

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times reports: On Thursday, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf contacted John Paxson about possibily becoming the next General Manager of the Chicago Bulls.

''[Reinsdorf has] asked me to talk at some point,'' Paxson said. ''There is no timetable.''

Reinsdorf also plans to speak to B.J. Armstrong.

It is speculated that Paxson would get the president of basketball operations title, with Armstrong getting a vice president in charge of basketball operations one, which would mean that Armstrong would be Paxson's top assistant.

Paxson is thrilled that he is being considered for the job.

''It's very flattering that Jerry Reinsdorf thinks highly enough of me to contact me,'' Paxson said. ''It's a wonderful opportunity. I'm very happy about it.''

Reinsdorf hopes to replace Jerry Krause, who resigned on Monday, by early May.

The associated press reports: Michael Jordan has not closed the door on leaving Washington.

Jordan hinted that he could leave Washington if he could not come to an agreement with the club.

"Obviously my focus here is to go back upstairs,'' he said after an 87-83 loss to the Celtics. "And hopefully it works out that way, but if it doesn't, then obviously I have options. Not just Chicago, I have other options as well.''

Those "other options" are rumored to be a job with the NBA's expansion franchise in Charlotte.

"For me, ideally, is to keep this thing rolling, keep this team moving in the right direction,'' Jordan said. "That's what I truly want to happen. Chicago is a second thought, as well as any other opportunities.''

Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal reports that Hubie Brown has shot down any rumors that hae linked him to becoming Jerry Krause's succesor.

"That's a far reach by whoever wrote that," Brown said with a slight grin. "I would never consider being in that type of a position.

"It's not the right thing for me," Brown said. "I have never been interested in that type of position."

Brown reaffirmed that he was looking forward to coaching next season saying he was feeling good health-wise and had a contractual obligation to the team.

"I'm extremely pleased with everything that has happened in the first year," Brown said. "I'm not happy with the way it's ending with our depletion of players because of injuries.

"But we have a mindset and we have a style of play now. Our fans can see that it's exciting but we need the (Michael) Dickersons, (Mike) Millers and Lorenzen Wrights healthy plus what we're going to get over the summer."

Brown feels the Grizzlies, when healthy, are just a big man away from becoming a ery tough team.

"We are 16-12 since we took over against the East. We can get away with our (lack of) size in the East," Brown said. "But we cannot win consistently against the playoff teams and top teams of the NBA in the West.

"Consequently, it comes down to can you take care of your defensive boards? Game in and game out, (opponents) hurt you with second-shot attempts. That's talent. If you look at all of the top centers and forwards, they're in the West. So it becomes a problem. We need one more major body."

With the surprising retirement announcement of Chicago Bulls' general manager Jerry Krause, the NBA loses another of its old-timers. (You think about things like this as you get closer to being an old-timer yourself.) It's easy to issue a dismissive "good riddance" to Krause ... and many have. Few executives have garnered less sympathy in recent years than Krause, who is blamed for fracturing the Bulls' dynasty and turning Chicago into one of the worst teams in the NBA. But I'm a little sad to see him go, for he was one of a kind, and the NBA becomes slightly less colorful with his departure.

I often think of Krause in tandem with another colorful old-time Jerry, this one surnamed Sloan, coach of the Utah Jazz. One Jerry never seemed able to gain the respect of his players, even when he was in the midst of putting together a team that won six championships; the other Jerry never lost that respect. One Jerry needed always to explain his part in the grand picture, alerting everyone to the fact that he was in the middle of it. The other Jerry preferred to stayed behind the scenes and appeared genuinely put off when someone mentioned his coaching attributes. The essential difference between the Jerrys boils down to this: Jerry Sloan knows that the NBA has been, is and always will be about players. Jerry Krause, for all his ability to ferret out talent, could never bring himself to acknowledge that talent is what it's all about.