Bulls’ front office has used All-Star Weekend to start making changes

A who’s who of NBA dignitaries descended upon Chicago this weekend.

Legendary former players, elite current players, coaches and front-office executives all gathered in hotel lobbies, at All-Star parties and at the United Center.

Bulls team president and COO Michael Reinsdorf and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson weren’t exactly front and center during all the public activities, but they definitely were lurking.

Actually, they were engaged in the initial legwork for a much-needed change coming to the organization.

According to several NBA executives, the Bulls are in the early stages of adding a new face to the front office, with the position defined as a general manager “with a louder voice.’’ One executive said the talks with candidates have been through back channels, with no formal interviews taking place, but the search is believed to be widespread.

This would be in line with a Sun-Times report from November that said general manager Gar Forman’s job security was tenuous and that the organization’s senior advisor, Doug Collins, was the loudest advocate for a change.

Collins never has been a big fan of Forman’s, starting with his questioning of the hiring of Fred Hoiberg as coach.

He was underwhelmed by Hoiberg’s leadership skills and was openly critical after the Nikola Mirotic-Bobby Portis practice altercation. Paxson and Reinsdorf have insisted that Hoiberg’s hiring was a group decision, but it was no secret that Forman was pushing for Hoiberg almost a year before former coach Tom Thibodeau was fired.

For Collins, the Hoiberg hire was strike one, but for those with more experience in organizational matters, it was yet another swing-and-miss by Forman.

Throw in the mistrust between Bulls players and Forman, the draft picks and free agents that haven’t panned out, the former players upset with Forman’s aloofness in mid-November when the team honored Luol Deng, and it’s obvious which front-office figure was being targeted.

Multiple media outlets reported last offseason that Forman had been stripped of many of his GM duties anyway, with Paxson also handling most of the media requirements the last few years.

The hope for Paxson is this new hire will take over the media duties, allowing him to slip into the background.

As for Forman, he’s not expected to be fired. Instead, he’d be moved to the scouting department, which the Bulls are looking to build up. They’ve long been known for a small scouting department and are planning an expansion this spring.

There was a report that Paxson’s power also would be diminished and that he’d be given a different title, but other executives indicated that will not be the case.

Coach Jim Boylen’s situation will be interesting to watch. The current front office and ownership have backed Boylen fully, but all indications are that the new hire will be given the chance to stick with Boylen or bring in a coach he can handpick.

That scenario works from a public-relations standpoint because if Boylen is let go with two more years on his deal, Paxson and Reinsdorf would be able to explain it away as standing behind the new GM and what they felt was best for the franchise.

As far as chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s take on all this, he likes the White Sox’ model in which GM Rick Hahn has been empowered and former GM Ken Williams has been allowed to slip into the background in his VP role but still have a say on matters.