BIG BEN TO BIG APPLE?
SALT LAKE CITY--Bulls center Ben Wallace denied an ESPN.com report that he expected to be traded by the league deadline of Feb. 21.
Wallace was asked if the report was accurate.
``Not at all,'' Wallace said after the team's Saturday shoot around for the game against the Utah Jazz.
Asked if he wanted to remain with the Bulls, Wallace said: ``I'll be here 'til I'm gone.''
The ESPN.com report said the Bulls and New York Knicks had discussed a possible trade of Wallace for former DePaul Blue Demon Quentin Richardson, Malik Rose and Fred Jones.
Wallace said the Bulls, who would finish this road trip at 3-3 with a win over the Jazz, are ``headed in the right direction now.''
The Bulls (20-29) are a half-game out of the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
``We just have to keep playing and let the critics keep talking,'' Wallace said.
NOTE: Ben Gordon (sprained right wrist), Kirk Hinrich (bruised ribs), and Luol Deng (Achilles tendinitis) will not play tonight against the Jazz.
Brian Hanley
