Despite rumors and newspaper stories suggesting otherwise, Bulls general manager John Paxson is not close to making any deals that include a ?big-name?? player.

?Right now, we still have over three weeks (before over the trade deadline), and as I have learned, a lot of teams don?t do much until the trade deadline gets closer,?? said Paxson, who just returned from a scouting trip in Europe.

?There is a misconception that those (superstar) guys are readily available. The discussions I have had, those names have not come up.

?(The rumors) seem to take on a life of their own, that we should go out and get a guy. We would love to have a guy that can score 25 points a night, but those guys are hard to come by and teams don?t give up on them.?

The Bulls will have room under the salary cap this summer for the first time since their celebrated ?full-boat? free-agent quests of 2000 and 2001.

Back then, when the team was horrible, the arrival of a future free agent such as Tracy McGrady or Eddie Jones was one of the few highlights on the schedule.

Thankfully for Bulls fans, times have changed. Saturday at the United Center, the Bulls got their first look this season at Atlanta?s Al Harrington, who could end up being their No. 1 target in free agency this summer.

As auditions go, this wasn?t a very good one. With Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf watching from his suite, Harrington produced 13 points and 4 rebounds, while hitting 5 of 15 shots. The Bulls survived a late comeback to turn back the Hawks 111-99.

The Bulls tried to trade for Harrington, a 6-foot-9 forward, in 2003 when he played for Indiana, but the Pacers wouldn?t accept an offer of the No. 7 draft pick. The Bulls ended up keeping the pick and selected Luol Deng, who scored 18 points Saturday.

Overall this season, Harrington, 25, is averaging 18.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 46.3 percent. A possible future with the Bulls is definitely on his mind.

?Obviously, they?re one of the top teams on my list as a free agent,? Harrington said. ?They?re right there. This house is definitely going to be a situation I?m going to look at in free agency and if it?s a fit, I?ll be here.?

The Bulls have a spot available for Harrington at power forward and believe he could fit in with their plan of a hard-working, unselfish team.

?They?re doing a great job of putting this team together,? Harrington said of the Bulls. ?Everybody complements each other well. I think the biggest thing that they?re missing is a person like myself that would be a post presence night in and night out. That?s why, obviously, I think this would be a good situation and I?m sure management feels that way also."

The Chicago Bulls today announced the signing of James Thomas to a 10-day contract. Thomas, a 6-8, 235-pound forward, will available tonight when the Bulls host the Washington Wizards at the United Center at 7:30 P.M. CT. He will wear No. 30.

Thomas joins Chicago from the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association where he averaged 19.7 ppg, 14.4 rpg, 1.1 apg and 37.0 mpg, and shot .513 from the field. He started all 12 appearances with the Patroons and was a recent participate in the CBA All-Star game on Jan. 16.

He joined Albany on Dec. 23, 2005, after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers. With the Sixers, Thomas played in 15 games and averaged 1.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg and 8.3 mpg and shot .538 from the floor.

As a rookie in 2004-05, Thomas spent a total of 11 games in the NBA between Portland (nine games) and Atlanta (two games) and averaged 2.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg in 10.6 mpg. He also spent 36 games with the NBDL?s Roanoke Dazzle. With the Dazzle he averaged 12.4 ppg and 13.3 rpg in 35.4 mpg and was the unanimous selection for 2005 D-League Rookie of the Year award.

The Chicago Bulls today announced the signing of James Thomas to a 10-day contract. Thomas, a 6-8, 235-pound forward, will available tonight when the Bulls host the Washington Wizards at the United Center at 7:30 P.M. CT. He will wear No. 30.

Thomas joins Chicago from the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association where he averaged 19.7 ppg, 14.4 rpg, 1.1 apg and 37.0 mpg, and shot .513 from the field. He started all 12 appearances with the Patroons and was a recent participate in the CBA All-Star game on Jan. 16.

Kirk Hinrich left the Bulls' game against the Raptors with 2 minutes 23 seconds left in the third quarter Wednesday night because of a bruised left thigh. Hinrich suffered the injury when he collided with Pape Sow's knee in the Bulls' 104-88 victory.

"If we absolutely needed him, I would have brought him back, but there was no reason to," coach Scott Skiles said.

Hinrich also has tendinitis in his right shoulder, but he said the nagging injury wasn't to blame for his 1-for-7 shooting.

"It doesn't affect my shot," he said. "It's really not a factor at all."

Michael Axelrod, the Chicago fan who quarreled with the wife of Knicks forward Antonio Davis at the United Center last week, issued a joint statement with the Davises on Monday, saying the episode "evolved from some misunderstandings."

Axelrod said he wouldn't follow through on his threat to sue Davis and his wife.

"Common sense strongly suggests that we collectively put this episode behind us and move on. That's what the Davises and Michael Axelrod plan to do, and we hope everyone else will, as well," the statement read.

The trouble started when Axelrod and Kendra Davis exchanged words during the Bulls-Knicks game at the United Center on Wednesday. Another fan became involved, and Antonio Davis ran into the stands during a timeout in overtime.

While Davis remained calm and allowed security to handle the situation, he was ejected and issued a statement after the game saying a drunk fan had touched Kendra.

The next day, Axelrod said he had only one glass of wine with dinner a few hours earlier and had threatened to sue for at least $1 million. On Friday, Axelrod and his attorney said they would drop the issue if the Davises issued a public apology.

The Davises refused. But agent Bill Duffy and Axelrod's father David -- a prominent Democratic political consultant -- continued to talk.

"It's good to come to a sensible resolution of this matter, especially where good people are involved," Duffy said in the statement. "You have two strong, wonderful families, and there's no reason why a heated moment should divide them."

Davis was ultimately suspended for five games by the NBA for his foray into the seats.

Axelrod's attorney, Jay Paul Deratany, said in a telephone interview: "Both sides expressed regret for any miscommunication that occurred. Both parties want to move forward -- with being a fan and watching the game and being a ballplayer."

Tim Thomas says he is working out at Villanova with his old college team.

"The only thing I want to do is play basketball," Thomas was saying by phone from New Jersey one day last week.

"Everything that happened from Day One, I don't really understand. I'm still confused about the whole situation. But I don't have anything bad to say about anybody [in Chicago]. I don't even remember how long I was there. I didn't make any relationships with anybody. Going into Chicago, I was excited. I've been in situations before that were not great (as far as winning). I know I can go out and do what I want [on the court] on a consistent basis. Chicago would have been a perfect situation for me."

"We agreed that Tim is at a different point in his career than the majority of our players, and it was mutually decided that he stay in N.Y. until we can get a deal done or the trade deadline passes," general manager John Paxson, out on a scouting trip, replied by e-mail. "I am aware that him not playing and not being visible to other teams doesn't help [our chances to trade him], but the reality is that we could possibly [still] have the opportunity to move him because of his one-year contract."

It remains one of the more curious stories in the NBA this season. Fans always scream for teams out of contention to play their younger players, so that's essentially what the Bulls, who wouldn't have signed Thomas after this season anyway, chose to do.

Could Thomas, 28, have made a difference for the Bulls, his fourth team in nine seasons?

"I came in with the mind-set to play basketball," said Thomas, who played in three games for the Bulls. "I heard my share of stories about [coach Scott Skiles], but it didn't bother me. When you're on the court, there isn't a coach in the world who can help you. You have to go out and perform on your own.

"I've been watching them. I know I can help that team. It's just circumstances happened. The opportunity was not there. Nobody wants to be in that situation. My only goal is to play basketball. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be just collecting a check. I know [Skiles] liked his core guys. I had no problem with them sticking with the young guys. My thing is I knew I could help. I still have some years in this league."

Bulls big man Tyson Chandler -- who's been mired in a season-long funk,even called an 'overpaid Mikki Moore' by one NBA coach -- led the way in the Bulls' 101-89 win in Indiana with a 15-point (7-for-9 shooting), 14-rebound effort despite playing with a very sore left ring finger that his dislocated Friday.

''I felt good out there, like myself, clear-headed and aggressive,'' he said. ''A lot of times when you focus on the defensive end, the offense will come.''

Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 20 points and Kirk Hinrich added 16, but everyone focused afterward on Chandler's performance.

''That was definitely needed for this team,'' Hinrich said. ''He was playing like Tyson can, getting rebounds, playing defense and scoring some points.''

While Chandler did it on the court, a few players and coaches were joking in the locker room that Luol Deng sparked the performance by getting ejected in the first half.

Deng's frustrations began in the first couple of minutes of the game when he felt he was fouled on a drive to the basket. He drove to the basket and had the ball knocked away from him, again with nothing being called.

When play was stopped at the other end by a foul call, Deng complained to referee Derrick Stafford and was assessed a technical foul. Deng was still jawing at the official as he walked away and was slapped with another technical and the automatic ejection.

he testosterone continued to flow at Knicks camp yesterday, as Larry Brown questioned commissioner David Stern's judgment and said he would've been right behind Antonio Davis in the United Center stands had he known what was happening with Davis' wife and kids.

Brown, who is 65 with a bad hip, said, "If I saw him go up there and known what was happening, I probably would've went up there with him."

Brown is fuming at the league for the five-game ban. The Knicks are falling apart again, losers of four straight following the 26-point Pistons' pounding. Davis ? and likely Stephon Marbury ? will miss tonight's Garden clash vs. the Hornets.

"I'd love for you to take a poll here, what you would do if your child and your wife were in the stands and think they were in a difficult situation," Brown said. "You'd be up in the stands. I understand what the league is saying ? no coaches or players have a right to be there, but I also understand when you look at Antonio Davis and his career, the kind of person he is and the way he handled it, I can't imagine coming up with a five-game suspension. If you're trying to prove a point, get real. That to me is ridiculous."

While Knicks president Isiah Thomas curiously has said he was "relieved" the suspension wasn't harsher, Brown continued on the attack.

"Anybody in the NBA office, if that happened to somebody in their family, they're not going to get on the phone and call security. They'd be right up there seeing that their kids were taken care of and their wife's taken care of. I don't think they used real good judgment when they handled the penalty."

Bulls rookie Eddie Basden will be sent to the Tulsa 66ers of the Developmental League soon, GM John Paxson confirmed.

A rule change this season allows NBA teams to send first- or second-year players to the D-League for an indefinite period while retaining their rights.

The Bulls want Basden to build his confidence with more playing time. The 6-foot-5 guard from Charlotte has appeared in just three of the last 19 games. Basden?s coach at Tulsa will be former DePaul boss Joey Meyer.