Sizing up two beleaguered GMs

The NBA never has suffered from the old "you can't tell the players without a scorecard'' problem, what with them so up-close-and-personal in their skivvies (then) and jammies (now). But lately, there has been the distinct possibility of mistaken identity in the league's front offices, what with Chicago's John Paxson and Phoenix's Steve Kerr simultaneously steering their team buses off the Road to the NBA Finals.

One has swerved into a desert ditch, the other into a snowbank, but otherwise it might be getting difficult to tell the former three-point-shooting reserve guards who had supporting roles in a Michael Jordan three-peat apart. So here's our Paxson-Kerr scorecard, which can serve as a primer for distinguishing the Bulls' woes from the Suns' struggles.

Tale of the Tape   John Paxson Steve Kerr Personal Data Born 9/29/60. Guard, 6-2, 175 pounds. Drafted in 1983 by San Antonio, 19th overall pick Born 9/27/65. Guard, 6-2, 175 pounds. Drafted in 1988 by Phoenix, 50th overall pick Playing Statistics 772 NBA games, 17,257 minutes, 5,560 points, 2,758 assists 910 NBA games, 16,207 minutes, 5,437 points, 1,658 assists Shooting Percentages .499 FG, .804 FT, .355 3PT .479 FG, .864 FT, .454 3PT Championships Won Four (three as Bulls player, 1991-93, and one as Chicago assistant, 1996) Five (three as Bulls player, 1996-98, and two as San Antonio reserve, 1999 and 2003) Most Memorable Moment Series-winning jump shot on a pass from Jordan with 3.9 seconds left against Phoenix in Game 6 of the 1993 Finals Series-winning jump shot on a pass from Jordan with five seconds left against Utah in Game 6 of the 1997 Finals Career Before This One Color commentator on Bulls' radio and TV broadcasts Color commentator for TNT and NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports Seasons In Current Post Six Two Team Record During Tenure (Playoff Appearances) 216-247 (3) 83-50 (1) Coaching Changes Three (Bill Cartwright to Scott Skiles, Skiles to Jim Boylan, Boylan to Vinny Del Negro) Two (Mike D'Antoni to Terry Porter, Porter to Alvin Gentry) Best Draft Move Selected Chris Duhon (Duke) with No. 38 overall pick, June 2004 Selected center Robin Lopez (Stanford) with No. 15 overall pick, June 2008 Worst Draft Move Sent rights to LaMarcus Aldridge and second-round pick to Portland for rights to Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa, June 2006 Sent rights to Rudy Fernandez and forward James Jones to Portland for cash, June 2007 Best Trade/Signing Acquired rights to Luol Deng from Phoenix for conditional first-round pick, June 2004 Acquired Shaquille O'Neal for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, February 2008 Worst Trade/Signing Signed Ben Wallace to four-year, $60 million deal, July 2006 Traded Kurt Thomas and second-round pick to Seattle for two first-round picks, July 2007 Owner's Comment on 2008-09 "This has been a disaster. It's embarrassing." -- Jerry Reinsdorf "It's a confusing season for me a little bit." -- Robert Sarver Current Predicament Under pressure, amid rumors that he might resign, some fans want Paxson to take Del Negro's spot on the bench to coach the roster he assembled Under pressure, amid rumors that he might trade Amare Stoudemire next, some fans wanted Kerr to take Porter's spot on the bench to coach the roster he assembled

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