Gettin Bigs? Both major papers today (here's the Sun-Times version) are speculating on Paxson's desire to add another big man to the roster. "But there's 15 guaranteed contracts already" you say? Actually maybe only I said that. But it turns out that Trent Hassell's contract doesn't become guaranteed till mid-January, So if the Bulls do sign somebody he's the likely one to go. Another candidate would be Roger Mason, who has a guaranteed contract, but can be inexpensively bought out. So who exactly are the candiates mentioned?

Shawn Kemp: Could teach Tyson gain some weight. And also give parenting advice to Eddy. And if the Bulls have a retro-jersey night I predict his would be a top seller. Walt Williams: Don't know why he's mentioned, he's not really a post player. His nickname is "The Wizard", with no affiliation of the tremendous team which achieved the ultimate goals of having earned consecutive mid first-round picks over the past 2 years. Charles Oakley: Bring veteran leadership back to Chicago. Can teach the kids how to disrespect coaches and give up on a team. Also how to come in and give somebody a clothesline for looking at Michael Jordan the wrong way. LaPhonso Ellis: Now I was suprised to hear he was still in the league (well..kind of in it), so I looked up his stats for last year. Oh great, he's not even mentioned on NBA.com (never a good sign). But I found it on ESPN.com 14.3 mpg 5.0 ppg 2.9 rpg 38% fg. I guess that's not bad....but if the size-hungry Heat don't want him, then you can pretty much write him off. Tyrone Hill: Ok, now here's an actual legit NBA post player. Even though he is almost as old as Dikembe (~62) he can still do the 'dirty work' in the paint. And is an upgrade over Corie Blount, which sadly I can't really say for the rest of these chumps. However Ty is currently waiting out for 2 things: someone's mid-level exemption, or the vet's minimum on a championship team. Unfortunately the Bulls don't have either to offer, but as the season draws near you never know. I predict he'll end up in Dallas....and will get into some sort of camp brawl with Danny Fortson.

So what everything turns out to be is just far-fetched speculation. If I were Hassell, I wouldn't be getting my bus ticket to North Charleston just yet. Injury Report Fizer won't play tonight against Indiana, looks like the knee is acting up. Tyson Chandler is unlikely to play tonight (back). E-Rob practiced and might play tonight for the first time this preseason. Jalen's thumb was re-examined yesterday, And the results will determine whether the team's earlier reccomendation of avoiding surgery was correct. That's scary stuff for a Bulls fan, but Jerry Krause always said the Bulls had the best medical staff in basketball. I have no idea how that was determined though.