Before the Hawks game, Bulls general manager John Paxson spoke to reporters about potential trades. Paxson didn't confirm or deny discussions with the Grizzlies involving a potential trade for forward Pau Gasol, but he did discuss what an asset Gasol would be to the Bulls without mentioning Gasol's name.

"We need a guy to score like that," he said. "We need somebody with length that could score around the basket, take some pressure off of Ben (Wallace)."