<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>General manager John Paxson, who is scheduled to address the media Thursday, continues to explore ways to land Bryant. But as has been mentioned frequently, he won't gut his roster to do so, and he doesn't want to part with Deng. Players for now are more annoyed than worried by the plethora of off-the-court questions. The longer this lingers, though, the higher chance it becomes a distraction. Coach Scott Skiles said he isn't worried about that. "I honestly don't sense it," Skiles said. "I would say so if I felt that was an issue. But I feel like the guys have gone about the normal business of getting ready for the regular season. I don't know if there is going to be any hangover from any of this. But that's not what I sense." Guard Kirk Hinrich, a co-captain along with Deng, agreed. "It's something you can't control, so you just go out and do your job," Hinrich said. "We have young players so somebody always is trying to tie us into a trade. But everybody is excited to get this going." Deng and Gordon are excited to play basketball, but less so because their deals didn't get done. Both players expressed disappointment and said the Bulls didn't move off their initial offers, which were in the five-year, $50 million range. "It was never really a negotiation," Gordon said. "It was kind of like take it or leave it." Though Deng disputed it, a league source said the Bulls increased their offer to Deng on Wednesday. Deng then admitted it would be hard to put the issue out of his mind at least initially. "It's definitely in the back of the mind," Deng said. "I wish it had gotten done, the honest truth. I'm a little disappointed it happened. But you have to understand the business part of it. We just didn't come to terms." Gordon uttered similar sentiments. "It's nothing to be happy about," he said. "But I kind of expected it so I can't say I'm shocked. I just have to play through it and something will get done sooner or later. "I don't think it will affect my game. It hasn't affected my approach thus far. And it won't throughout the year. My game and the contract are two separate things. "</div></p> Source: Chicago Tribune</p>
