Jazz's plan to develop Williams paid off
The two superstar point guards from the 2005 draft are in the same spot now, leading their respective teams to vast improvement.
But while New Orleans' Chris Paul became his team's dominant player almost immediately as a rookie, Utah's Deron Williams started just 47 games during his first NBA season.
With the Bulls trying to develop a plan for No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was asked before Saturday's game if he headed into the 2005-06 season with the thought of bringing Williams along slowly.
"He was thrown out there right away," Sloan said. "For a rookie, it's that old story: You've got to earn your keep a little bit. You may expect it, but sometimes you have to prove it."
What Sloan was saying is Williams did start early that season but also spent time backing up journeyman Keith McLeod.
"I don't know if I did the right thing or not," Sloan added. "It's not a big deal. The idea was we changed for a while. I don't know if it helped him. But my intentions were to try to.
"Once in awhile, you have to substitute for a guy. It may not always be what the guy likes, but hopefully it's the best thing. It doesn't always mean it's best. I've made a ton of mistakes and I hate to read about them in the paper."
Sloan scoffed at the notion that he must have prepared Williams well, since the former Illinois star was brilliant in his next two seasons.
"I'm just a coach," said the Bulls legend, whose No. 4 hangs at the United Center. "Players make themselves better. I don't know if coaches do. I had Karl Malone, John Stockton - those guys made themselves better. It wasn't me."
Hughes plan on hold: Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro was asked before Saturday's game if he planned to look again at Kirk Hinrich and Larry Hughes starting together before the preseason ends. When those two started against Minnesota on Oct. 14, the Bulls jumped to a 30-13 lead in the first quarter.
"I wouldn't read too much into anything right now," Del Negro said. "Larry's been terrific all through training camp, really hasn't missed anything (until a bruised knuckle kept him out for three days last week).
"Larry's a quality player. He's been around. I'm just trying to mix and match and change the lineup as we get healthy. See what combinations work and how they fit best coming off the bench and how we can utilize what everybody does best. Sometimes that takes awhile. We're still going through that process."
Corbin comes close: The Bulls interviewed Utah assistant Tyrone Corbin, a former DePaul star, during their spring coaching search. He was considered a strong candidate but was not one of three finalists.
"All of my coaches would be great head coaches," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "Phil Johnson does a great job. Scott Layden does a great job. Those guys and Tyrone I think would be great head coaches. I'm just lucky to have all of them on my staff.
"They're very much involved - all my coaches are. When I worked for Frank Layden, he let me be involved a great deal as an assistant coach. I think that helped me a great deal and hopefully I can help these guys."
Bull horns: While Larry Hughes returned from three days off with a bruised knuckle, Ben Gordon skipped Saturday's game, a night after scoring 23 points in his preseason debut. Gordon has been out with a jammed toe. ... Center Aaron Gray first entered Saturday's game with 4:57 remaining after Tyrus Thomas fouled out. Gray used those five minutes to produce 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.