After winning thirty games last year - including going 27-14 at home - many predicted the Chicago Bulls to be the team to break out this season.

They had in their possession two 7-foot high schoolers in Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry to lead the way, and a guard who was just as youthful putting up some huge numbers after All-Star break in Jamal Crawford.  Jerry Krause was out, John Paxson was in, and the Bulls were on the rise.

Just weeks before the draft Chicago was dealt a blow when it lost point guard Jay Williams - the second overall pick of the previous draft - to a serious motorcycle accident which would later end his tenture with the team.  Optimism, however, remained high as Paxson was able to snare Kirk Hinrich with the seventh overall pick to take Williams' place.

Paxson has now been in the job for a year and he's seen his team regress.  The Bulls were never able to get off on the right foot. Free agent signee Scottie Pippen was playing less of a role than expected. Eddy Curry and Jalen Rose had interrupted preseasons through injury. Tyson Chandler starting the season off on fire before his body shut down with back pain.  Then, before downgrading on talent by trading Rose and Donyell Marshall coach Bill Cartwright was fired.

While not everything has turned out bad for Paxson and the Bulls - Hinrich turning out better than everyone expected for one - nothing that has happened has changed Paxson's focus or made him question whether taking the job was the right move.

"No, no, never, ever, ever," Paxson said in an interview. "This season has only strengthened my resolve. I have certain convictions about the way the game should be played and about the way the game should be approached. Those have been strengthened in a big way. It's my job to find people with that approach.

"I have a coach like that. And I'm very grateful for that because I think our guys have been demanded of and taught more about the NBA game in the last four months than they had been before. And that's a good start. But you have to have guys buy into it. And if I feel certain people aren't buying into it, then it's my job to find other people who will."

By all accounts, Paxson will be aggressive in trying to make major changes to his roster this summer. Whether that occurs or he merely makes another solid draft choice and perhaps a minor trade remains to be seen.

Whatever happens, though, Paxson's approach will be different from last summer's.

"My thought process wasn't to make a bunch of changes right away because I thought we were further along," Paxson said. "Last year I wanted to be conservative in terms of what changes we made just based on the fact that we won 30 games and ended on a high note. Eddy Curry played so well down the stretch. Jamal Crawford played well after the All-Star break. We assumed Tyson Chandler would be healthy. Looking back, I would've done pretty much the same things.

"Now, the needs are different. I know what positions we need to fill. But there may be certain things we're working under that will affect what we can do. I still think we have a core of young guys who we have to figure out how best to use and what kind of players can play with them. That's the task for me this summer."

Paxson may have found his backup point guard in Jannero Pargo. He still needs a starting small forward and a veteran reserve big man. Most followers of the team would be surprised if the core of Curry, Chandler and Crawford remains intact for next season.

"We'll have a [higher] pick than we had last year," Paxson said. "Hopefully, it's a really good one that we can use because there are players in this draft who can make a difference. I think we're in a position where we have to keep chipping away and not get too excited or too overanxious to change just for the sake of change. I know we need to get different people on this roster. But I'll evaluate that really carefully."

That's because Paxson, like most people associated with the organization, learned from last summer. He learned that expectations don't mean much.

"I think a lot of us were [overly] optimistic," Paxson said. "I sat and watched every game last year, too, with a very critical eye [as a radio analyst] and I thought we were on the upswing. In retrospect, when you think about it, the thing that hurt us more than anything was Jay Williams' injury. The fact we lost the second pick in the draft for nothing, I underestimated that.

"We just didn't come into camp as a unified group on the same page ready to work. Fifteen minutes into our first practice, Eddy Curry was out for nine days [with a hamstring injury]. Jalen Rose broke his hand [but kept playing]. We started out 4-12. That's a fifth of your season. There were signs that things were going to be tougher than any of us anticipated. But I don't point any blame at anybody. If you're going to assign blame, point the blame at me."