--Last week's blockbuster trade reunited former Kansas teammates Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden. Those players were part of the Jayhawks' 1999 recruiting class, along with Seattle F Nick Collison. The long beard is only the first clue that Gooden is something of a free spirit, as well as a locker-room comedian.
"I'm the type of guy, I like to crack jokes," Gooden said. "I know when it's time to get serious. But keeping the team loose, I think that's the type of atmosphere me and a couple other guys in Cleveland created for our team. I hope to do the same thing here." Asked if Gooden had a similar personality in college, Hinrich answered: "He's always been like that. You love him for it. We just looked at it as free entertainment, being around him. He's always been pure comedy for us."
--Since the Bulls added four new players from Cleveland last week, G Chris Duhon has been the odd man out. He sat out his third straight game by coach's decision at Indiana on Wednesday. Duhon is an obvious choice to take a seat since he'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer and it's questionable whether he'll be back with the Bulls next season.
"You have to know playing time is out of your control," Duhon said. "There are times teams want to go in another direction or have guys they expect to play a lot next year. If my time does come again this season, that's great. If not, I can't let that affect the player I am. Right now, I have to be a good teammate and whenever the season is over, see what my options are."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I've scored some buckets in this league, then kind of took a couple years off numbers-wise (playing in Cleveland). But I feel I've put in enough work to be effective on the court. If they look to me to get baskets and get us going, I feel like I can do it." -- G Larry Hughes, after scoring 29 points in his third game with the Bulls, a 113-107 win at Indiana.
