Bulls VP of basketball operations John Paxson sees a path back to elite status

John Paxson believes there is a path out of the basement, and even beyond mediocrity for this roster.

The Bulls vice president of basketball operations made that crystal clear last week in his end-of-the-season address with the media at the Advocate Center.

And while the line of skeptics is a long one, this is a front office that often tunes out doubt and criticism better than most organizations around the league.

So when Paxson was asked just how this roster would be capable of that – especially void of a true superstar – that front office optimism was again on full display.

“The first part of that is through the draft and to get relevant again,’’ Paxson said, in explaining how the Bulls plan to build an elite roster. “I’m not ruling out Zach LaVine or Lauri Markkanen being significant players in this league. Zach just turned 24 and I thought Zach had a really good year, a really good year. He grew in a lot of ways where I think he’s going to get better. Lauri’s just still a young guy. As I’ve mentioned many times, the internal growth of our guys is a key part of that.’’

What Paxson has in his favor is both players he mentioned know they need to carry that weight of the franchise.

LaVine already talked about working on his post-up game, as well as fine tuning what he already has in his repertoire, while Markkanen – now cleared for all basketball activity after the scare of a rapid heart rate – will focus on building his body first, and then hit the court to get his game to the next level.

OK, so say they both take jumps to being All-Stars – a big ask – that still doesn’t solve the problem of landing an elite talent.

That could change on May 14 with the draft lottery, as the Bulls sit fourth overall, holding a 12.5 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick and grab Zion Williamson.

If that doesn’t happen, however, Paxson still sees a path.

“I do believe when we establish winning again, that this city is a draw, that this organization is a draw,’’ Paxson said. “But that’s down the road. That’s why we made the deal at the trade deadline for Otto [Porter]. We felt that was a significant piece to becoming a much better basketball team. Over that stretch where we had him and we healthy, we were playing at a level that I could see us playing at in the future. So we’re trying to build toward what you’re talking about.’’

Having $20 million in cap room doesn’t hurt, with the Bulls looking to add more veteran voices to help Porter.

The backcourt will be the focus, both at the point and looking to add an off-guard that can shoot. Coach Jim Boylen would benefit from both that bump in talent and in leadership, and no one knows that more than Porter.

That was the formula for the Wizards in their multiple play-off runs, and one Porter latched onto.

Young players follow success and the money. Porter, who is the highest-paid player on the roster, has both, and the fact that he instantly had Boylen’s back carried a lot of weight.

“That’s something I was able to see,’’ Porter said. “Once the guys started seeing me follow that model that continued to help us, continued to understand what it takes, [they’ll see] how much hard work you have to put into it and into preparing.’’

Paxson is counting on that.

Then again, Paxson will be counting on a lot of things to go in the right direction.