For years, Chicago Bulls fans and media pundits have ripped executives John Paxson and Gar Forman for their inability to put together a title-contending team.

However, Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf does not understand the criticism of both men:

“It’s hard for me to see people that I admire and respect get criticized,” he said of Paxson, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “They have families. They have given a lot to this organization. John came to us as a player and has been with us since 1985. He won championships. He was a selfless player. He was an assistant coach and announcer. My dad asked him to take on the general manager role, and John has given his heart to this organization and city of Chicago. To see the fan reaction and some of the media take on John, I personally don’t understand it.”

Reinsdorf had much of the same to say about Forman:

“As for Gar, he has been with our organization since 1999,” he said. “I listen to sports radio sometimes — yes, I sometimes do — and I’ll hear people say, “I don’t trust Gar to make the right draft choice.” That is really confusing to me. If you look at our history in the draft, it’s really good. He has drafted players like Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler — all in the 20 to 30 range. In the draft, if you hit 60 percent in the top 10, that’s typical. We’re doing better than that in the 20s to 30. We credit not just Gar and John but the scouts who work for us. Yes, they’ve made mistakes. And they’ll be the first to tell you we’ve made mistakes.”

The Bulls are in the beginning stages of a rebuild after trading Jimmy Butler in 2017. After winning 27 games last season, Chicago currently owns a record of 18-46 and will miss the playoffs for the second straight year for the first time since 2004, which was right at the beginning of Paxson's tenure as general manager.

Paxson was promoted in 2009, with Forman taking over as general manager. The Bulls have reached the Eastern Conference Finals just once since Michael Jordan retired for a second time in 1998.