Rose has yet to make Jordan's speed-dial list
Derrick Rose appears to be the Bulls' best player since Michael Jordan left the team for good in 1998.
So far, there has been no Chicago basketball summit between Jordan and Rose. Jordan does have a slight conflict of interest now that he is a part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
"I met him a couple of times, been over to his house a couple of times, but never talked to him one-on-one about basketball," Rose said. "I was in high school, before junior and senior year, when I met him a couple times."
Rose knew Jordan's oldest son, Jeff, a sophomore at the University of Illinois, through the AAU basketball circuit. Rose and Michael Jordan both attended an Illini game in Champaign recently, but did not interact.
Gray stays ready: Backup center Aaron Gray sat out all of the Bulls' victory over Golden State on Nov. 21, but recovered nicely to play an important role in the next two games. He scored 8 points in the third quarter at Denver as the Bulls took a temporary lead, then tallied 6 of his 8 points in the fourth quarter during the win at Utah.
"A game like Golden State, I'm not upset or frustrated. I understand the reasoning," Gray said. "Coach made it real clear that there's going to be different games where matchups are more favorable for me. I just come out the next night and be prepared. Being called on in crucial minutes is a good feeling."
A second-round draft pick last year, Gray was given more playing time on the six-game Western Conference swing than lottery picks Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.
Over those six contests, Gray averaged 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds, Noah had 3.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, while Thomas as at 5.2 and 4.3. Thomas hasn't scored in double figures since Nov. 7 against Phoenix.
Old face in new place: When he played against Denver earlier this week, Bulls guard Lindsey Hunter and former Detroit Pistons teammate Chauncey Billups agreed that it was odd to see each other in different uniforms. Billups was traded to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson a few weeks ago.
"He was just like, 'Do you believe this?'" Hunter said. "Hey man, it's the NBA. When you see Michael Jordan go play for the Washington Wizards, you know at anytime that anybody can be anywhere. Nothing surprises me here."
Bull horns: With Luol Deng returning from a sore hamstring to play in the last two games, Thabo Sefolosha's playing time was limited to the final three minutes of Wednesday's loss to San Antonio. He didn't play at all against Utah. ... The Bulls will practice the next two days at the Berto Center, then head out to Philadelphia for the final stop of the circus trip on Sunday.