Scottie Pippen's scorched-earth assessment of current Bulls' players and his stated desire to coach in the organization spread through the locker room quickly Monday.

"I don't really care what Scottie has to say," Ben Gordon said.

In Monday's Tribune, NBA reporter Sam Smith quoted Pippen offering one of his harsher critiques when dissecting Gordon's game, claiming he selfishly takes bad shots.

"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but it doesn't have anything to do with anything," Gordon said. "When I see him, I say hi out of respect. He's a top-50 player. That's the extent [of our relationship], really."

Pippen also bluntly assessed Kirk Hinrich's game, claiming, "You can't have midgets running your backcourt." The two had a strong relationship as teammates during Hinrich's rookie season of 2003-04.

"I always liked Pip, and we got along great," Hinrich said. "I don't think he's ever been afraid to speak his mind even when he was here. I never felt like it was anything too crazy."