Iverson not the answer for Bulls
''I know we're not a team that's in there talking about it -- contrary to a couple reports I've read,'' Skiles said. ''I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. Wherever he ends up, he ends up.''
An erroneous report in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday said the Bulls had offered P.J. Brown, Michael Sweetney, Ben Gordon and a first-round draft pick for Iverson.
POSITIVE MOVE: NBA commissioner David Stern's decision to switch back to a leather Spalding ball Jan. 1 was welcomed by the Bulls, who admittedly were not among the most vocal critics of the two-piece composite ball the league introduced this season.
Brown, a member of the National Basketball Players Association's executive committee, said the team was split about evenly when the topic was discussed recently.
''To make a change this quickly is very surprising,'' Brown said. ''He's David Stern for a reason. The commissioner gave us one. Hopefully, everybody's happy now.''
The NBPA had filed a lawsuit to fight the league's unilateral decision to use a new ball.
''Anytime you start messing with the ball, that's how we make our living,'' Brown said. ''The game revolves around the basketball.
''The people above may have taken that a little too lightly, just taking it upon themselves to change it. You have to get some input from some of our main guys. You want players to feel somewhat a part of this league and somewhat of a partnership, at least.''
Among the biggest complaints by players was that the ball retained moisture and was slippery. Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash also complained that the ball cut open his fingers.
''Our players' response to this particular composite ball has been overwhelmingly negative, and we are acting accordingly,'' Stern said in a statement Monday. ''Although testing performed by Spalding and the NBA demonstrated that the new composite basketball was more consistent than leather, and statistically there has been an improvement in shooting, scoring and ball-related turnovers, the most important statistic is the view of our players.
''In the meantime, we will work with our players and our partners at Spalding to determine the best possible ball for the NBA.''
The NBA Development League will continue to use the composite ball to evaluate its performance over a longer period of time.
MR. WIZARD: The Bulls assigned 7-2 center Martynas Andriuskevicius to the Dakota Wizards of the Development League for the remainder of the season.