The Bulls' players have pushed for a coach who has had NBA playing experience, and come 3pm Friday they will have their opportunity when it is expected that Bulls GM Jerry Krause will announce that Bill Cartwright will be his next coach.

Cartwright has been an assistant coach since 1996, a period which spanned tentures of both Phil Jackson and Tim Floyd, attributes which Cartwright insists will help him.  Bill Berry, the team's current interim coach, will return to an assistant role and will be joined by Pete Myers.

'Cartwright's promotion follows the trend of two previous successful Krause hires: Doug Collins and Phil Jackson. Those two were former successful NBA players who had little or no head-coaching experience when Krause tabbed them to lead the Bulls,' writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

"I think the world of him," ex-Bulls guard and now Bulls radio analyst John Paxson said. "He's a real even-keeled guy and his demeanor, if he's put in that position, will be good for this team. He has a belief system on how the game should be played."

Even though the job has not yet been announced, he already has a response ready for those waiting to ask about the playing time of teenage toddlers Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler -- a question that ex-coach Tim Floyd was often bombarded with.  "They'll stay out there as long as they're playing all right," Cartwright said. "As soon as they hurt the team, they will come out. We're still trying to win some games here."