[From the Fanposts. I'm  at the point where I won't believe it until there's a press conference. -ed.]

According to Mike McGraw's sources :

The Bulls have chosen Vinny Del Negro to be their new head coach, according to league sources

 

 

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http://www.670thescore.com/ has the Ron Adams interview with Boars and Bernstein from yesterday posted on the main page.

Adams is always interesting.  He did say Skiles and Pax had one of the best working relationships he's ever seen in all his years in the NBA, and he hopes Skiles and Pax can still be friends.  He did see the signs of a split though.

But Adams does say trades are needed.

http://www.670thescore.com/.

It is Mike North, so lots of dumb stuff, but he talks about using Luol in the post to create offense.  Lots of love for Mr. Deng there.

Also, talks of Kirk's commitment this summer to make himself stronger, the Ben Wallace headband rule, mentions of who was working out at the Berto this summer, and Aaron Gray.  Because of course, North loves Gray.

Reinsdorf's UC partner died this morning.  

throwback to a bygone era in American sports when family ownership of professional sports franchises was the norm, Bill Wirtz died early Wednesday morning at age 77 at Evanston Hospital after a recent battle with cancer.

Many considered Wirtz to be a dinosaur in today's environment of corporate ownership.

A more apt metaphor would be to describe him as a mammoth, a giant of the modern ice age that saw him play an integral role in the expansion of the National Hockey League from six to 30 teams.

Although Wirtz was best known for his long tenure as president of his family-owned hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks, his business ventures went far beyond sports. And his sports ventures went far beyond the Blackhawks.

He was chairman of Wirtz Beverage Group, president of Wirtz Corp. and Wirtz Realty, director of First Security Trust and Savings Bank and chairman of the South Miami Bank Corp. He also served as a director of U.S. Bank Corp. and Alberto Culver.

He was one of the original Bulls owners, and he may still own part of the Bulls.  I wonder who'll take over the running of the hockey team?

A good piece at Bulls.com about Ben Gordon's day from wake-up to bed-time:

10:00 a.m.
It's now time to go to work for Gordon, who typically arrives at the Berto Center, the team's practice facility, in Deerfield between 9 and 11. On this particular day, he heads straight to the court and immediately starts shooting to get loose. Gordon has a handful of drills that he mixes in to his routine to "break up the monotony" of the hundreds of shots he hoists each workout.

"Usually to warm up, I'll start with a lot of repetition," he said. "I'll stand in one spot and shoot a bunch mid-range shots and then make my way around the court." Following that, he extends his shots to behind the three-point line, where he repeats the same pattern.

10:05 a.m.
Rebounding for Gordon throughout it all is Imran John, another roommate and long-time friend dating back to their childhood in Mount Vernon. John has been by Gordon's side for the last year and a half as his personal assistant, helping him with his workouts, day-to-day errands and appointments. There's very little verbal interaction between the two during the workout. John has a good feel for how Gordon operates, from where he likes his passes to what routine is next.

10:45 a.m.
It's times like these when you can truly appreciate how precise of a shooter Ben Gordon is. After draining more than 15 threes in a row, he takes his first break to down some Gatorade and catch his breath.

"Becoming a better shooter doesn't mean you're improving--it's also about mechanics, footwork, and being able to do those things at game speed," Gordon explains. "It's also about still being able to function at a high level when you're tired and still being able to make plays."

Within a minute, he's back on the court.

Lots more at
Ben Gordon: A day in the life...

Including Skiles' challenging him to hit 90% on his free throws, his internet habits, what he reads, upcoming appearances (he'll be on Oprah!),  and his new agent.

Plus pictures.  No shirtless pictures, but pictures.  Can anyone tell who is in the shot behind Ben where Ben's shooting freethrows?  I think one of the persons is Aaron Gray.

comcast has a little  note up at http://chicago.comcastsportsnet.com/ saying Pax is going to be the guest on Chicago Tribune Live today.

So maybe he'll let some real news slip.  Or maybe they'll talk about how exciting Devin Hestor is, or how bad the Fighting Irish are.

But it's a chance we'll have some new info about the upcoming season.

with Mike North, alas:

http://www.670thescore.com/ - the podcast is linked from the main page.

Talks about the New Jersey game, the matchups, Skiles' smiling, Thabo, Tyrus, the players staying on their feet, the headband, Wallace, etc.

Tyrus is a two-footed jumper, when he jumps on one he has balance issues.  Never noticed that myself.

[From the Diaries. North is awful but a Pax interview is a Pax interview. And it's just nice to start a new thread. On a completely unrelated note, 3 results from the SBNation Readers choice voting have been posted: R.O.Y., 6thMan, M.I.P. -Matt]

A very soft-hitting but still interesting interview by Mike North this morning can be found here:

http://www.670thescore.com/pages/153118.php?contentType=34&contentId=1800

More on the Deng/Pau trade talks, plus stuff on Skiles and how he's built trust with the young guys, TT being in early today to work on his jump shots, the swap pick, Kirk, Thabo, and Ben Gordon.

Since I have this handy, I'll save Matt sometime and post the rest of the Schedule:

Mar  Opponent Time* Local TV National TV  

  Wed 7 @  Miami  7:30pm --  --    
  Thu 8 @  Orlando  8:00pm --  TNT    
  Sun 11 @  Boston  3:30pm --  ABC    
  Tue 13 Boston  7:30pm --  --    
  Wed 14 @  Philadelphia  7:00pm --  --    
  Sat 17 @  Memphis  7:00pm --  --    
  Tue 20 L.A. Clippers  7:30pm --  --    
  Thu 22 Denver  7:30pm --  NBATV    
  Sun 25 @  Indiana  3:30pm --  ABC    
  Mon 26 Portland  7:30pm --  --    
  Thu 29 Detroit  7:00pm --  TNT    
  Sat 31 Cleveland  2:00pm --  ESPN    
 Apr  Opponent Time* Local TV National TV  
  Sun 1 @  Atlanta  2:00pm --  --    
  Wed 4 @  Detroit  8:00pm --  ESPN    
  Fri 6 New Jersey  7:30pm --  --    
  Sun 8 @  Toronto  6:00pm --  --    
  Tue 10 New York  7:30pm --  --    
  Fri 13 Charlotte  7:30pm --  --    
  Sun 15 @  Washington  3:30pm --  ABC    
  Wed 18 @  New Jersey  7:30pm --  --    

That Boston game scheduled to be on ABC isn't anymore, and I think the time changed.  It's at 5 and will be on WGN (Local only).

Ian Thomsen has a Q and A with Skiles posted online today at SI.Com.  A lot of stuff we've heard before, but in a longer form, and something relevant to other discussions going on today:

* On the difficulties of young players trying to earn their next contract:

"The way this system is right now, your first contract for these guys is sort of for getting on your feet in the league, and it's the second contract where you really make your money. So we undoubtedly have some typical NBA-type stuff going on, where it doesn't make guys bad guys or anything. Guys are in this business to be professionals and make money and get paid for playing basketball.

"We've got [Andres] Nocioni and [Luol] Deng and [Ben] Gordon, and all three are eligible to be up next summer [for new contracts]. We're trying to set a standard here where if we win, we'll take care of guys. If we don't, we won't. We want that to be the important thing, not your individual stats and all that. That can be a tough sell in today's NBA, though.''

If you haven't seen it, check out Rick Telander's new column at ESPN.COM.  His latest is his adventure at the UC for the Grizzlie/Bull game:

What do I think of the new ball?" he repeats nervously after I ask him. "Ha, ha. When they first handed us these balls back in February, it felt different than this one. It felt real tacky. But with wear it seems to lose that feel. I've shot a little with it, but the players are the best judges. It's composite&"

He won't flat-out say it sucks. Guys like Steve Nash and Shaq have, however. "It feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store," Shaq quoth. "Indoor-outdoor balls."

But commissioner David Stern says shut your pie holes and play. "Some of the dramatics around it were a little overstated," D-Stern said of ball criticisms. It's here for good, so deal with it.

"The reality is the commissioner came out and said `This is going to be the ball,' so guys are going to have to adjust to it," says Paxson. "We've been told every major sport plays with a composite ball, and the NBA went out and did a lot of testing and Spalding came up with this thing. It is a little slick. No question about it. And the more it's used the more the tacky feel goes away." We study the orb. Paxson spins it, looks it at it the way you might handle a sandwich with bad cheese. We note the way the lines don't intersect, how the texture is un-leather-like, and that the NBA logo is everywhere.

"Yeah, it's a only a two-seam ball," says Pax. "So there's really only two parts to the ball. And Jerry is all over the place. One, two, three, four& five logos."

We study the thing. Jeez, commissioner, where are the subscription cards, the holograms?

"But, you know, the intentions were the right thing," says Paxson in his most charitable tone. "I've got to be politically correct. The league doesn't like me, anyway."

A lot more at http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=telander_rick

If you don't get NBA TV (like anyone stuck with Charter as a cable company), you can still see the exhibition games not on ESPN.  It's after the game has aired, but hey:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/ will have them.

Info from the USA basketball site:

USA Basketball is bringing the 2006 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team exhibition games to the iTunes® Music Store (www.itunes.com), providing basketball fans with the ability to download complete game replays of the games to their computer or iPod®.

Fans will be able to access complete game replays of the USA Basketball exhibition games through individual game downloads for $1.99 or a package option of all five games for $6.99. Each game will be available on iTunes to download within 24 hours after it concludes.

Not a bad price at all.

Jim Paxson is now an officially paid consultant to the Bulls.

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/paxson_060705.html

If we don't trade Chandler now, Jim knows all about getting rid of bad contracts when Zeke isn't around to pick 'em up.  However, John has always said he has learned lots about basketball from Jim, and I'm sure Jim and John have talked all the time anyway.

[From the Diaries, this is a good find. I bet the 'counting down his fingers' was actually Pax telling tales from Game 6 of the '93 Finals. -Matt]

The Oregonian has a reporter at the pre-draft camp (The Sun-Times is sending Hanley later this week) and has a story mentioning Paxson and Patterson meeting for over 30 minutes:

Shortly after the meeting with Colangelo, Patterson and director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard met with Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson, who holds the No. 2 overall pick. As the arena was cleared to hold private workouts, the three met for more than 30 minutes while sitting courtside.

During the conversation, Paxson was the most demonstrative, several times holding out his hand and counting down his fingers. At least one time during this process, Paxson could be seen mouthing the word, "Roy," presumably Washington guard Brandon Roy, who is expected to be a top-five pick.

Let the rumors start.

Here's the mp3 of Pax with Hanley and Mulligan from today - talks about the whole draft process, and how they're preparing for it.

http://www.670thescore.com/includes/news_items/news_items_more.php?section_id=1&id=895

Interesting that the players who think they're the top picks don't want to come in for a workout.  Pax uses the visit to get to know the players - and they do psychological testing!