PHILADELPHIA (AP) Jalen Rose has already spent a lot of time defending his character since joining the Toronto Raptors, the result of what he believes was back-channel bashing in Chicago.

``I think a lot of bash work indirectly has been done the last two weeks to try to make the situation seem justified, when in actuality that was unnecessary,'' Rose said prior to his Raptors debut against the 76ers on Tuesday night.

``I didn't build a positive reputation in the NBA for that to happen, but it comes with the territory. Now I have a new start in Toronto to show the people who I am.''

Rose was having an unproductive season in Chicago, averaging just 13.3 points and shooting 37 percent. He was dealt to Toronto on Monday along with Donyell Marshall and Lonny Baxter for Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams and Chris Jeffries.

The Chicago-Toronto trade talks were one of the league's worst-kept secrets for nearly two weeks, and Rose believes people in the Bulls organization were speaking poorly of him behind his back to make the trade seem more palatable to the public.

Rose found himself defending his character during his introductory news conference in Toronto, where one of the city's major newspapers used the headline ``Problem Child?'' for a profile piece on Rose.

The reputation of being a troublemaker and locker room lawyer has stuck with Rose throughout a professional career that began in Denver and included stints in Indiana and Chicago.

Rose said he had a sense over the summer that incoming Bulls general manager John Paxson would try to move him.

``I saw the writing on the wall from the beginning. Any time you get a new GM, he wants to put his own people in place. And from the beginning of the season the talk was about my contribution and my role,'' Rose said, ``and that I may not have been a fit to what they're trying to do five years from now.''

With the Raptors, Rose is expected to provide a second scoring option behind Vince Carter as Toronto tries to improve the lowest-scoring offense in the league _ 78.0 points per game.

Both Rose and Marshall were in the starting lineup against the 76ers.

``I'm very excited about my new role here. When I was brought to Chicago _ regardless of what was said after the fact _ I was very productive there and I did everything I was asked to do on and off the court. I'm coming here to do the same thing, it just so happens that this team here has a superstar in Vince Carter,'' Rose said.