Bulls general manager Gar Forman is absolutely safe, says VP John Paxson

General manager Gar Forman, who courted Fred Hoiberg months before the Bulls hired him away from Iowa State in 2015, won’t feel the heat in the wake of Hoiberg’s firing as head coach Monday, the Bulls said.

“First of all, the belief that Gar solely made that [hiring] decision was wrong and always has been,” Paxson said. “Those are reports. We can’t battle everything. I was 100 percent on board with hiring Fred. [Owners] Jerry and Michael [Reinsdorf] were 100 percent on board with hiring Fred. I work with Gar every day. I understand his internal value to this organization.”

Asked why Forman wasn’t made available to speak to reporters, Paxson said, “As far as speaking, I’m the spokesman as the executive VP of the Bulls. Gar has a role. We work in tandem together. We make decisions together. But I’m the person who will stand up in front and talk about why we do certain things. That’s just the way it is.

“It’s not that he’s not talking because he doesn’t want to. It’s because I choose to speak for this organization.”

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