John Paxson said Saturday that he spoke with disgruntled forward P.J. Brown on the phone and plans to meet with him and agent Mark Bartlestein on Monday.

Brown has expressed a desire to be traded.

''It would have been my preference that P.J. had addressed this privately, but I understand that not every player is happy in his role on a team,'' Paxson said. ''As for players requesting trades, I can only say that my obligation is to do what is in the best interest of the Bulls organization. Whether something can or will be done is uncertain.

''In the meantime, I expect P.J. Brown to carry himself with the professionalism that has been a defining characteristic of his career and to help our basketball team in whatever role [coach] Scott Skiles believes will help us win games.''