After five straight games on the Bulls' inactive list, veteran forward Tim Thomas has been moved to the really inactive list.

Operations chief John Paxson announced Monday that he and Thomas have reached a mutual understanding in which Thomas no longer will be an active member of the team but will remain on the roster for the time being.

Thomas, 28, won't be released but will be allowed to stay with his family in the New York area while Paxson explores trade possibilities.

''Tim has made some comments about being here, and I have mentioned that he is at a different stage of his professional career than most of our guys,'' Paxson said. ''He wants to play, and right now we're in a position where that's probably not going to happen here.

''I don't want to put Tim and my coach in a position where every day they have to answer the question of when he's coming off the inactive list and why he's not playing.''

After being a starter for most of his career, Thomas appeared in three of the Bulls' 11 games, averaging 4.3 points in 10.7 minutes. A week ago, coach Scott Skiles was asked if Thomas could help the team at some point this season, and Skiles replied, ''I don't know.''

Before the start of the team's recent West Coast trip, Thomas complained about his lack of playing time, saying the team would be better off trading him if he wasn't going to play. Essentially, the Bulls agreed Monday.

''We're going to try to accommodate him,'' Paxson said. ''But we're going to do what we have to do as an organization. We're not going to do anything that's going to set us back.''