Everyone needs to start somewhere, and even the best coaches needed a break to begin their legacy in the NBA coaching business, so Chicago Tribune writer Sam Smith asks why not Scottie Pippen as the next coach of the Bulls.

"What's my disadvantage?" Pippen asked. "No NBA coaching experience? [Scott] Skiles' record with the Bulls wasn't that great. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do what you've done your whole life. I've played basketball, run teams and won."

"They didn't put me at point guard because I could dribble good. They put me there because I could run a team. I wasn't the best dribbler, the best shooter. I wasn't a point guard. But I knew how to run a team."

Pippen, who is living in Ft. Lauderdale and dabbling in a few business ventures, clearly has given this some thought.

"With a guy who loved to touch it and shoot all the time, I was able to keep him under control," Pippen said, referring, of course, to Michael Jordan. "That didn't come from the bench; it came from making the right decisions. You try to make the game fun for everyone and then we were able to find Mike. The games I felt he was getting off too much, I'd find a way to get other guys off. And then guys weren't running at him all the time and he could take off in the right place."

Jamal Crawford missed the Knicks' game against Chicago on Sunday because of a bruised right hand, leaving New York without its normal starting backcourt.

Stephon Marbury was back with the team after missing most of the month following the death of his father but wasn't in uniform, and it isn't known when he will rejoin the lineup.

Crawford, who leads the Knicks with 19.2 points per game, was hurt Friday during practice when he banged his hand into a teammate's knee. X-rays before Sunday's game were negative, and the Knicks didn't say how long Crawford would be out.

Unable to reach terms on a contract extension before this season, Ben Gordon has told confidants he might sign a one-year tender offer next summer and become an unrestricted free agent after the 2008-09 season.

If they don't trade him first, the Bulls will make a qualifying offer of $6.4 million to keep Gordon as a restricted free agent next off-season. That would allow them to match any offers he might receive next summer.

The Bulls also can negotiate a long-term extension with Gordon next summer.

Jim Boylan's debut as interim head coach of the Chicago Bulls was a winner because of a major change he made soon after getting the job.

Boylan asked Ben Gordon to give up his starter's role and come off the bench to give the stumbling team an offensive lift.

Gordon, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year during the 2004-05 season, prefers to be on the floor at the start of the game but made the switch to help the team. He scored 19 of his 31 points in the final quarter Friday night as the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 103-99.

Jim Boylan was promoted Thursday to interim Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls, who fired Scott Skiles on Monday after the team's disappointing start.

Boylan was in his fourth season as an assistant under Skiles and has 14 years experience in the NBA but none as a head coach at the pro level.

"Jim has paid his dues as an assistant coach and has his own ideas on the way he wants us to play," Bulls' General Manager John Paxson said in a statement.

Assistant Coach Pete Myers was in charge of the team during Wednesday night's 94-79 loss at San Antonio that dropped the Bulls' record to 9-17.

Tony Parker scored 28 points, and the Spurs easily beat Chicago 94-79 Wednesday night in the Bulls' first game since firing Scott Skiles.

Michael Finley added 15 points for San Antonio, and Tim Duncan had 11 rebounds.

Joe Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Ben Gordon added 18 points for the Bulls, who have dropped four of their last five. Assistant Coach Pete Myers, who played in the league for eight years, served as interim coach for Chicago.

Serious trade talk typically doesn't begin until January in the NBA, but logic would suggest Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson is ready to explore ways to trade center Ben Wallace.

The Bulls would have to pay a premium, but one positive is that his contract was front-loaded, which means from the original $60 million deal, he's owed $28.5 million over the next two seasons.

"Change is not always bad," Wallace said after Saturday's dismal 116-98 home loss to Houston. "If everybody wants to be here, we have to step it up."

The most obvious trade targets for the Bulls are New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd and Memphis Grizzlies center Pau Gasol.

Just-fired Chicago Bulls' Coach Scott Skiles will have a job next season, and his team will improve. Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley has become a big fan of Skiles, and the two spent time together at the Coach's Annual Meeting in September. The New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Philadelphia 76ers probably will give him a hard look.

Scottie Pippen could return as an assistant coac, since he and Skiles didn't get along, and John Bach could be brought back for consulting work since his name has come up for jobs with other teams, according to Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson made it clear that he was unlikely to pick a permanent successor this season, or as permanent as a coach can be in the NBA these days the Chicago Tribune reported.

Sources say inquiries have already been made on behalf of Rick Carlisle and Larry Brown, each a former coach of the year, and Paul Westphal, who's back on an NBA bench as a Dallas assistant.

Paxson said assistant Pete Myers would coach Wednesday's game. Top assistant Jim Boylan, who interviewed for the Pacers' job last summer, is to meet with Paxson on Wednesday, skipping the San Antonio trip to interview for a job that's likely to last only for the rest of this season.