Brand remains a topic of debate

For years, Bulls fans debated whether the team should have ever gotten rid of Elton Brand, the top pick of the 1999 draft. After Brand averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of his first two seasons, the Bulls traded him for draft rights to Tyson Chandler.

Now in Philadelphia, there are questions about whether the 76ers should have acquired Brand. He signed a five-year, $80-million deal to jump from the Clippers to the Sixers in 2008.

The problem is Brand missed all but eight games in 2007-08 with a torn Achilles tendon, then played in just 29 games last year for Philadelphia because of a shoulder injury.

He's off to a slow start this season, averaging 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds - about half his career totals. Heading into Friday's game against Utah, Brand had sat out the entire fourth quarter in four of the previous five games.

"Of course, I'm a realist, I understand," Brand told Philadelphia reporters on Thursday. "You sign a big contract, you expect big numbers. If I go out there and dominate, you have to play me (in the fourth quarter)."

While Brand understands that he's not living up to expectations, first-year Sixers coach Eddie Jordan made it sound as though he's tired of discussing it.

"It's not an issue for me," Jordan said. "He's our starting power forward, and he's one of 13, and that's where I stand with him."

Brand is Philadelphia's fifth-leading scorer, behind Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Marreese Speights and Thaddeus Young. The Sixers were 4-4 heading into the Utah game, with three of the wins coming against New Jersey or New York.

Grab some sleep: Joakim Noah was asked Friday to describe his ideal for the Bulls' reputation as a team. As usual, he gave a thoughtful and interesting response.

"Of course, I want people to think we're scrappy, and we bring a lot of energy and it's not going to be a walk in the park," Noah said. "It's definitely not one of those games where you can go out and party the night before. Hopefully they're in bed going to sleep when they play the Chicago Bulls."

Family ties: It's been a good week for the Bulls' extended family. Duje Dukan, son of European scout Ivica Dukan, signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Wisconsin. Duke is a 6-8 senior at Deerfield High School.

Rob Wennington, son of Bulls' radio analyst Bill Wennington, is a senior tight end at Loyola Academy and will play in the Class 8A football quarterfinals this weekend. There could have been an epic showdown against Stacey King's son Erick, a senior safety at Stevenson, but the Patriots were knocked out of the playoffs by Mt. Carmel last Friday.

Bull horns: Tuesday's game against Denver drew the second-highest all-time regular season rating on Comcast SportsNet with a 4.3 average. The record was 4.37 for a game against Miami on Dec. 27, 2006. - Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was on hand to watch Friday's practice.