Boozer urged signing of former teammates

Carlos Boozer interrupted his own interview following Friday's victory over the Lakers to shout praise in the direction of teammate Ronnie Brewer.

Boozer's enthusiasm raised the question of whether he lobbied the Bulls to sign his two former Utah teammates Brewer and Kyle Korver. Boozer was the first free agent to join the Bulls in July.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Boozer said. “They hit me right away and I said, ‘We need Kyle.' Actually, they went after J.J. (Redick) first because he had a monster playoffs against Thibs in Boston. I said, ‘If we can't get him, let's get Kyle Korver.' You saw how much he's helped us.”

Boozer's timing is a little off, because the Bulls actually signed Korver first, a few hours before giving Redick an offer sheet. When Orlando matched the offer and kept Redick, the Bulls signed Brewer almost immediately.

“Ronnie Brewer, I promoted him all along, because I know how much heart the kid had, how much toughness,” Boozer said. “He'll guard the other team's best player and not complain one time about it. (Against the Lakers) he made great plays to help us win the game.”

Thibs spreads blame:

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau sounds like he's getting a little perturbed by questions about whether shooting guard Keith Bogans should stay in the starting lineup.

Bogans has made just 4 of 27 shots from 3-point range since Nov. 19 and missed his first attempt of Saturday's game against Minnesota. While the Bulls fell behind 18-6 in Friday's first quarter, it appeared the Lakers didn't bother to guard Bogans.

“I don't think that's the case at all,” Thibodeau said before Saturday's game. “I think their commitment to Derrick (Rose) and their commitment to Carlos (Boozer) dictated where it was going.

“I'm concerned about our team collectively. It's not on Keith, it's on the team our readiness to play. When we're ready to play, we play well. Sometimes we're lethargic, but to put it all on Keith is unfair and it's not right.”

Love for Rodman:

NBA rebounding leader Kevin Love provided a long list of old-school basketball resources he's used to refine his game, from Pete Maravich to the “Bad Boy” Pistons.

So it made sense that one of his favorites is former Bulls power forward Dennis Rodman.

“I loved his game. There's a lot you can learn from the ‘Worm,'” Love said with a smile. “He was a tremendous guy to watch, on and off the court. But he brought it every single game. As far as rebounding percentage goes and averaging 16, 17 rebounds, that kind of tells you in itself he was a tremendous player and very, very athletic.”

Minnesota's third-year forward started the night averaging 15.7 rebounds. Bulls center Joakim Noah dropped to third in the category, behind Orlando's Dwight Howard, after Friday's action.

Bull horns:

Derrick Rose said he might attend Sunday's Bears-Patriots game but plans on sitting in a luxury suite. He did joke about possibly painting a Bears logo on his chest, though. … Kyle Korver will host a coat drive at the Jan. 1 game against Cleveland.