Nobody seems to want to set the market for the big men the Bulls are in the hunt for - Joe Smith, Chris Mihm and Mikki Moore - a holding pattern that has a limit.

As badly as the Bulls want to add a veteran big man, general manager John Paxson refuses to flirt with luxury-tax territory down the road to do so. With extensions possibly coming up this summer or next for Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, the financial parameters he has discussed with agents for Smith, Moore and Mihm reflect that.

"We're not going to use the exceptions just to use them," Paxson said.