L.A. coach Phil Jackson: I'm still a Bulls fan
LOS ANGELES - If anyone was wondering, Lakers coach Phil Jackson still pulls for the Bulls, the team he led to six championships in the 1990s.
"(General manager) John Paxson's there guiding this situation and he's one of my favorite players," Jackson said. "I have a lot of favorite players, but John is certainly one of them. It looked like they were recovering, they had a setback (last season), and now they got a first-round draft pick, which was a real interesting situation. Here it is, an opportunity again for the Bulls."
Before Tuesday's game at the Staples Center, Jackson wasn't sure what to make of No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose. Many have already suggested that Rose is the team's best player since Michael Jordan left in 1998.
"He looks really quick," Jackson said. "I haven't seen him in person, but he looks like he's very quick and he is also explosive for his size. People from Chicago that still stay in contact with me are hoping he's like a (Chris) Paul. He's going to be that kind of a factor in their game, but that's a big wish. He's got potential."
Rose loves L.A.: Derrick Rose spent several weeks in Los Angeles working out before the draft. That's where he watched the Bulls win the draft lottery in May.
To a kid who grew up in a rough neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, needless to say, Southern California was quite a change.
"I love L.A. Love it," Rose said before his Staples Center debut against the Lakers. "I wish I could just stay here now a little bit. People just let you be here; they don't bother you that much. I just love everything about it. It's way different from Chicago.
"I went to almost every sightseeing place you could probably go to. My agent, Arn (Tellem), takes me a lot of places. I just hang out with his kids while I'm out here."
Gooden shakes off injury: Drew Gooden was in the starting lineup against the Lakers despite reinjuring a sprained right ankle in Monday's practice. When it happened, he thought he might be back on the sideline for a few days.
"I thought it was bigger than what it was," he said. "I kind of twisted it the same way I injured the ankle happened again in practice."
Gooden missed two games with the ankle injury, then came back to produce a combined 12 points and 18 rebounds against Dallas and Indiana.
"I'm moving OK on some cuts," he said before playing the Lakers. "But my thing is having to bang and having to hold up somebody else's weight on it. I think that's the toughest thing right now for me."
BG picks Kobe: In Ben Gordon's mind, reigning most valuable player Kobe Bryant is the league's best player.
"I think Kobe's the best," Gordon said. "I think potential-wise, LeBron (James) probably has the greatest potential of anyone who ever put on basketball shoes. But I think just from a mental standpoint and overall game, Kobe's still up there."
Bull horns: Injured guard Kirk Hinrich did not accompany the Bulls on this trip. ... Rookie Derrick Rose on playing at least 40 minutes in the previous five games: "I'm embracing it. I never thought I'd play these many minutes, but people are injured and I'm happy I'm getting them."