Not only did no Bulls' job status change Wednesday, which was expected, neither did management's plan of trying to remain competitive while developing young players.

Those are difficult dual goals to meet, which is a big reason why the Bulls finished 41-41 last season.

“From ownership down, we're committed to working through the issues that we face,” executive vice president John Paxson said while sitting alongside general manager Gar Forman. “(Chairman Jerry and President Michael Reinsdorf) continue to give us resources. Gar and I are committed to reshaping the roster in a disciplined fashion. We remain focused on both the long term and the short term.”

The short term centers mainly on “The 3 Alphas,” Rajon Rondo's colorful nickname for himself, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler when Rondo signed a two-year deal with a team option last summer.

Paxson said “there's a very good chance” Rondo's $13.4 million option will be picked up, while management has to prepare for Wade using his player option of $23.8 million for next season.

Butler's situation is more fluid. Even while praising him, Paxson talked about how Butler is a “different player (who) has the ball in his hands a lot” when asked about coach Fred Hoiberg's preferred pace and space offensive system.

And management must factor in that if Butler makes an All-NBA team this offseason, he would be in line in 2018 for a designated player exception calling for a five-year, $200-million-plus extension.

“Jimmy is far and away our best player. He's an all-NBA type guy,” Paxson said. “He has made himself into just a quality player. His work ethic, as most people know, is one of the best in the league. We talked about last year; look our job, you always have to keep things open.”

Neither Wade nor Butler has yet had an official exit meeting with management because officials wanted to have organizational meetings first and give players time to decompress. Wade said on Saturday that he needs clarity on the franchise's direction before making his decision.

Despite taking the high road publicly, Butler privately obviously hasn't loved hearing his name in trade talks both last June and this February. And, despite being on a maximum contract, he occasionally feels underappreciated.

Butler repeatedly has said he wants to stay — and win — in Chicago. But even if Butler doesn't hear what he wants from management in his exit meeting and requests a trade, ownership would sign off only on a deal that improves the Bulls.

“Dwyane's going to look to us for direction,” Paxson said. “In a lot of ways, Dwyane was really good for us. His injury toward the end of the year hurt him.

“The thing with Jimmy is all of us would love to get another a superstar player to go along with him. But with the salaries we have, that's a difficult thing for us to manage. I respect very much Jimmy Butler's professionalism and how he goes about his job. The one thing we will do is continue to communicate with him. We can say anything to him. He can say anything to us. He can ask any questions he wants and we'll be honest with him. Ultimately, Gar and I always are going to continue to do what we think we have to do from our seat.”

It's quite possible, if not likely, that even if the organization reaches consensus to trade Butler, it won't find a suitable package for him. Paxson did mention how teams who “blow it all up” can take, “six, eight, 10 years” to get back in the playoffs.

“If we don't get something in return that puts us in a position to really move forward, you can't do that,” Paxson said of a Butler trade.

Likening their working relationship to that between a chief executive officer and chief operating officer, Paxson said he and Forman “overlap in what we do every day and we work well together.” Nevertheless, Paxson made clear Forman reports to him and stated he “always has the ability to say yes or no” with the higher title. Forman said he reports to Paxson and both Reinsdorfs.

Subtle front-office changes are coming in the form of fuller participation from a small staff and more consistent dialogue between basketball operations and ownership, sources said. Paxson said whether Hoiberg's assistant coaching staff will be tweaked is under consideration.

Otherwise, despite bemoaning last season's inconsistent play and lack of identity, management resorted to the familiar theme of future flexibility. Basically, when the salary cap levels next summer, the Bulls, who aren't hamstrung to prohibitive, long-term deals, hope to make a splash.

None of this matters if the young players don't develop.

“We don't want to change without knowing exactly what we have. And I don't feel that we have given our young kids a chance,” Paxson said. “Again, we know we're on the line for that. We scout them. We drafted them. We traded for them. That's part of the job. But we have to give them an opportunity.”

kcjohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop