The wolves are circling around first-year Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro. Some don’t like him constantly tinkering with the lineup, while others are wondering why the Bulls hired him in the first place. After all, he’s never been a head coach before. And it’s showing. With the Bulls seemingly handing leads over to the opponent every time they step on the floor — the Hawks game on Tuesday night was particularly frustrating — John Paxson spoke out about the team’s performance.

And, he’s throwing it all on himself.

“The only person I’ll evaluate right now is myself, and I obviously haven’t done the job of putting the type of team that I want to have on the floor in terms of competitiveness and effort,’’ Paxson said Wednesday when asked about the job coach Vinny Del Negro and his staff have done. The Bulls are 18-25. “That falls on me. That’s the only person I’m going to critique. That’s the way it is.’’

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“We’re not very good right now,’’ Paxson said. “We’re not playing well enough to win those [close] games. I’m obviously not happy with how we’re playing. I don’t think my expectations were such going into the season thinking we were going to be a top, top level team. But what I want to see is the team play together. And right now, through 40-plus games, we’re not that. And that concerns me.”

From the way that first quote begins  — “The only person I’ll evaluate right now is myself ..” — it’s fairly obvious some reporter prompted him with a question about Vinny Del Negro’s performance thus far. And, he handled it well: At this point, when criticism is being thrown squarely on the guy you believed in and hired, it’s best not to pile it on. That’s of no worth to you or the organization. Blame yourself and move on to the next question.

But, though Paxson deflected the blame, he’s also completely right: As the general manager, he was ultimately the guy that hired Del Negro, and ultimately the guy who made the draft picks these last few years. Though he can’t control what the players do every night on the floor, he’s ultimately the decision maker at the top of the chain. And let’s face it: Since August of 2003 when Pax took over, save for 2006-07, this Bulls team has not been very good.

You always hear people saying “I trust Pax” or “I believe in Pax.” You’re not hearing that as much anymore this season.

There’s talk Del Negro is giong to get canned at some point this season or at the end of the year. And, maybe, just maybe, Paxson will be the shown the door with him.