Rookie Curry draws D-League duty
PHOENIX -- While the Bulls began their annual circus road trip Thursday, rookie JamesOn Curry was rerouted to Des Moines, where he'll begin an assignment with the Iowa Energy of the NBA's Developmental League.
Curry, a 6-foot-3 guard, was inactive for each of the Bulls' first six games. He wasn't particularly impressive during preseason, averaging 4 points while shooting a poor percentage.
"He's gotten better since this summer," said Bulls coach Scott Skiles. "We just feel it would be beneficial for him to play, especially in an environment where the NBA guys go down there and they have a bull's-eye on them. There are guys down there trying to make a name for themselves."
When the Bulls drafted Curry out of Oklahoma State with the 51st pick of the June draft, they projected him spending plenty of time in the D-League this season.
"We really looked at this as a developmental process with him, maybe as much as anybody we've drafted in the second round," said general manager John Paxson, who accompanied the team to Phoenix. "We told JamesOn that we really want to see him run the point, run a team.
"You need to play games. My reference point is often times what happened with me and my first year (with San Antonio in 1983-84), I played some, but not a lot. It's not just losing your timing. It's also losing your confidence a little bit and who you are as a player."
Paxson expects to bring Curry back to Chicago after six to 10 games in Iowa, then return him to the D-League a couple more times this season.
Coach blisters Suns fans: Have fans in Arizona gotten bored with fastbreak basketball and 60-win seasons? Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni complained about the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd at U.S. Airways Arena after the Suns beat the Knicks on Tuesday.
"They didn't come ready," D'Antoni said. "You have to come every game, you have to bring it … and they didn't bring it. There was no atmosphere. Everybody -- us, them -- was just kind of down and blah and there's no reason to be."
Even when pressed on the wisdom of criticizing the paying customers, D'Antoni wouldn't back down.
"(I vented) because the fans deserved it," he added. "If they're going to boo us, heck, what's the difference, I can boo them."
Bull horns: Besides JamesOn Curry, the Bulls' inactives Thursday were Aaron Gray and Viktor Khryapa. ... Shooting guard Raja Bell was back in the lineup for Phoenix after missing two games with a sprained ankle. ... Voting for the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans began Thursday. Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni and Ben Wallace are representing the Bulls on the ballot.