Necomer Brown will have to stay patient

Newcomer Devin Brown might have a tough time getting used to not playing much for the Bulls.

Before being traded to Chicago for third-year center Aaron Gray, Brown was averaging 25 minutes per game for New Orleans. He logged 30 minutes against Denver in his final game with the Hornets.

Now he's mostly insurance if one of the Bulls guards gets hurt or traded. Brown has been in uniform twice since the trade, but has not yet seen game action.

"I am anxious to get out there, just because of the history of the Bulls' organization and things like that," Brown said Monday at the Berto Center. "Whenever my time comes, I'll be ready to go.

"I talked to coach and he said be patient and my time will come. Obviously, I'm new here, so I've got to learn the system a little bit. Other than that, it's not that big a deal."

The 6-foot-5 Brown is known as a streaky shooter and good defender, who has played for good teams during his eight-year NBA career. He won a championship with the Spurs in 2005.

"Devin's a veteran guy. He'll knock down some open shots for us. He knows how to play," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I don't think it will take him long to adapt."

Barkley backs Vinny: The thought of the Bulls firing coach Vinny Del Negro seems like a distant memory now, but TNT analyst Charles Barkley brought some support for the second-year coach Monday to WMVP's "Waddle and Silvy Show"

"Give Vinny some credit," Barkley said. "They could have cracked under pressure, because I tell you, I've been around teams when there are a bunch of trade rumors and thinking about the coach (getting fired), and the team packs it in and folds. So give Vinny some credit. He's done a good job.

"The reason the Bulls weren't playing well (earlier in the season) was Derrick Rose wasn't playing well. I don't think it was fair they were thinking about firing Vinny. Let me preface this by saying Vinny is a friend of mine, so I'm a little biased, but Vinny did not deserve to get fired."

Bull horns: Derrick Rose broke the Bulls' 12-year all-star drought, but here's coach Vinny Del Negro on Joakim Noah not being chosen: "Let's look at the positive. Not that he didn't make it, but the work he's putting in, his development and the future." ... Last Friday's overtime win at New Orleans drew the highest rating ever for a Bulls regular-season game on Comcast SportsNet, which came into existence in 2004.