K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes "Less than two weeks ago, Trenton Hassell walked out of a home exhibition game at halftime after a heated exchange with coach Bill Cartwright. Wednesday night, Hassell walked out of the FleetCenter a hero."

Hassell scored the Bulls final 8 points including a game winning 3-pointer with one minute remaining in the Bulls? 99-96 victory over the Boston Celtics. "My role is playing defense," Hassell said. "But I know I can score. That's all I did in college."

Hassell was given the chore of guarding the Celtics Paul Pierce who finished with 28 points for the game, but scored only 5 points in the 4th quarter.

ESPN.com reports that the Chicago Bulls acquired guard Erick Barkley from the Spurs today in exchange for future considerations. The Bulls also received an undisclosed amount of cash in the deal.

Barkley was then waived by the Bulls. If he clears waivers, he will be an unrestricted free agent and his guaranteed salary will count against the Bulls? team salary this season.

Steve Wyche of the Washington Post reports that Michael Jordan is going to court. The Wizards superstar is suing a woman, claiming she tried to extort $5 million from him.

Jordan admits to having an affair with the woman over ten years ago, but the suit claims that the woman has been demanding $5 million in "hush money".

In the lawsuit, Jordan admits to already paying the woman $250,000 to prevent the relationship from being made public. The woman, according to the lawsuit, has tried to get Jordan to pay her more money to keep the relationship quiet.

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Bulls may be willing to part with Jamal Crawford in an attempt to bring in some frontcourt help. An anonymous general manager told the Sun-Times that it appears as if Jerry Krause is seeking to trade Crawford.

The Bulls are looking for help in their frontcourt, but there is not much out there. Someone like Marc Jackson of the Timberwolves may be available, but the Bulls may want more in return for Crawford. ''He was a very high draft pick and is a very valuable member of this organization,'' Krause said.

Crawford may be available because of Jay Williams? emergence as the team?s starting point guard. Coach Bill Cartwright had been rotating starts between Williams and Crawford, but after Williams started the last two preseason games and Cartwright announcing that he wants to get his regular rotation set before the season starts, it appears as if Williams may have won the starting job.

In other Bulls "trade" news, Jalen Rose was a bit upset at the New York Posts? Peter Vecsey who wrote that Chicago is looking to deal Rose because of his "me-first" attitude. Krause and a team source denied the story, but a general manager speaking on the condition of anonymity said he heard Rose was available, although he didn't hear that from the Bulls.

Rose believes Vecsey's friendship with Pacers coach Isiah Thomas inspired the story. Indiana traded Rose last season after Rose and Thomas developed a bitter feud. ''I would be surprised [by a trade], but at the same time, that's the nature of the business,'' Rose said. ''I am an employee, not a boss.''

Krause said all general managers try to get a feel for what their players' trade value is. ''I ask teams in the league who they like on our team,'' Krause said. ''And so does every other general manager. But that does not mean I'm trying to trade somebody.''

Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reports that the Bulls are quietly becoming disenchanted with Jalen Rose. Sources have said that the Bulls are informing the rest of the league that Rose and his 5-year, $72 million remaining contract can be had.

Vecsey claims the Bulls are shopping their franchise player for the same reasons he was traded by Indiana and Denver. No matter how much he talks about a team game, the bottom line is the game is all about him. In other words, with Rose can?t play with highly-touted rookie Jay Williams. Both need the ball and both have problems playing without it.

According to a source, even with his inflated contract, poor shot selection and lackluster defense, the Knicks are interested in Rose and will be looking to move Sprewell before his pinky heals.

Check out Vecsey?s column for more nonsense on Karl Malone, Phil Jackson, Byron Scott and others.

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Bulls suffered another injury last night. Jalen Rose can be added to the long list of ailing Bulls after hurting his leg in Saturday?s 123-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Bulls (2-4) started the game with a lengthy injured list, including Tyson Chandler (concussion), Eddie Robinson (sore right hamstring), Donyell Marshall (sprained right ankle), Fred Hoiberg (sore right groin) and Dalibor Bagaric (right leg contusion).

Robinson's injury could be the most problematic. Cartwright likes to work his players back from injury gradually, and Robinson hasn't played in one game. He isn't even practicing yet. Chandler also is expected to miss the final two preseason games.

Luckily, Roses? injury is not thought to be serious.

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that  patience is wearing thin at the Bulls camp. After a 26-point loss to the Timberwolves on Tuesday and a bad practice by temperamental point guard Jamal Crawford, Bulls coach Bill Cartwright got serious.

Crawford, 22, refused to follow Cartwright's instructions on how to run the triangle offense. The third-year point guard hasn't been thrilled with having to battle rookie Jay Williams for the starting spot. And that frustration boiled over when he refused to pass the ball into the post and instead took the shot himself.

Cartwright halted practice to reprimand Crawford, who angrily took himself out of the scrimmage and told a teammate to sub in for him. A furious Cartwright ordered Crawford to leave practice.

"We're going to test these guys, as far as them being able to do what we need them to do on the floor,'' Cartwright said. "I didn't feel like Jamal was prepared to practice, so we just asked him to step off and go home.

"He'll be back tomorrow, and tomorrow's another day.''

According to one player, Crawford has displayed this kind of frustration throughout camp as he has split time and starts with Williams. But Cartwright disagreed. "Jamal's been fine,'' Cartwright said. "He's been working hard and playing hard, as far as I'm concerned.''

To add injury to insult, Bulls forward Tyson Chandler left practice after suffering a concussion.

Chandler suffered his damage while chasing a loose ball headed out of bounds and colliding with teammate Lonny Baxter. Chandler's head hit the court face first, chipping a tooth and giving him a concussion. Chandler was taken to the hospital for precautionary tests.

"I went over to the hospital, and he looks to be fine,'' Cartwright said. "He has a bump on his forehead and a chipped tooth.'' Chandler was released from the hospital and is expected to miss two games this weekend.

Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald reports that the Chicago Bulls have very little to show for two years of cap room and aggressively pursuing big-name free agents. Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones and Tim Thomas signed elsewhere. And of the free agents the Bulls did sign, Ron Mercer and Brad Miller have been traded, while Eddie Robinson is hurt again.

McGraw observes that if you forget about who is not wearing a Bulls uniform, a consolation prize can be found. By creating competition for players, the Bulls helped sabotage the payrolls of several Eastern Conference rivals.

Because of the luxury tax, the teams that "stole" free agents from the Bulls are all feeling the financial effects of those big money contracts. Here are some examples of the damage inflicted by the Bulls.

- To counter a generous offer from the Bulls, Milwaukee re-signed Thomas to a six-year, $67 million deal in 2000. Now the second-highest paid player on the Bucks, Thomas should finally become a starter this season after the team sent Glenn Robinson to Atlanta for Toni Kukoc. Thomas' salary helped push Milwaukee's payroll over the predicted luxury tax threshold. As a result, the Bucks are hesitant to match Dallas' offer sheet to Michael Redd. They also made no attempt to re-sign free agents Darvin Ham and Greg Foster.

- Indiana's Austin Croshere was signed to a seven-year, $51 million contract after meeting with the Bulls in the summer of 2000. After trying in vain get Croshere's salary off their books, the Pacers should feel the pinch next summer. That's when Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller, Brad Miller, Ron Artest and Jonathon Bender all become free agents.

- Not only do the Pacers owe Croshere $7.6 million next year, the Bulls also saddled them with Mercer's $6.75 million salary in the Jalen Rose trade. It will be difficult for Indiana to re-sign all of its own free agents without going $10 million or more above the luxury tax threshold.

- Toronto  set out to prove last summer that NBA stars would agree to stay in Canada for the right price. So it was considered a coup when Antonio Davis turned down the Bulls' offer and re-signed with the Raptors for $60 million over five years. The Raptors might like to have that one back. With its payroll so high, Toronto didn't even make a serious offer to restricted free agent Keon Clark, who went to Sacramento. Now that Hakeem Olajuwon has decided to retire, the Raptors could be hurting for an inside presence.

- With their hot pursuit of Jones, the Bulls forced the multiplayer trade that sent Jones from Charlotte to Miami in 2000. The Hornets actually fared better in that deal. But now the Heat is sinking fast and any rebuilding effort will be hampered by Jones' huge contract and owner Micky Arison's fear of the luxury tax.

All of the teams mentioned above reside in the Eastern Conference. So in theory, if the Bulls improve during the next few years, their free-agent blunders of the past might actually help them climb over weakened opponents in the standings.

Imagine that. By not spending their gold, the Bulls may find a silver lining.

The Associated Press reports that Bulls forward Marcus Fizer was arrested Sunday morning after the police found a loaded weapon in his vehicle.

Illinois Police pulled Fizer over just after 2 a.m. because of the window tinting on his vehicle. They discovered Fizer was driving with a suspended license. When the police searched the vehicle, they found a loaded .40 caliber Baretta underneath a seat. Fizer was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and driving on a suspended license.

A bond hearing is scheduled for later Sunday.