As of Tuesday, the Bulls are not planning to bring in anyone to help fill in while Andres Nocioni is sidelined with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

The Bulls reached out to both Toni Kukoc and Antonio Davis, but both former Bulls decided to remain retired.

With coach Scott Skiles recently and gently revealing that Nocioni could miss the remainder of the regular season with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the Bulls continue to face questions that have dogged them all season.

In addition to the usual questions about the team's lack of height, on Tuesday the question was is this perimeter-based team running out of gas?

"This is our team," guard Chris Duhon said. "It's based around the perimeter guys. We have to look at ourselves and realize we have to do more if we want to become the team that we need to be."

The Bulls have experienced enough success and clawed back into enough desperate games to denounce all three-guard lineups. But their lack of size puts even more pressure on a team that must play at a high energy level nightly to be consistently successful.

As general manager John Paxson and Skiles continue to contemplate adding size to the roster in the form of a 10-day contract, reality dictates that any project currently toiling in the NBDL would add only so much.

If the Bulls did add somebody, guard Andre Barrett might stick around as a practice player. That would mean another player, possibly center Martynas Andriuskevicius, would have to be waived.

Antonio Davis waved off a question about whether he was retired when he visited the Bulls' practice last Saturday. It is said that Davis is enjoying retirement. But his skills?leadership and rugged rebounding?appear to be what the Bulls are lacking.

Ben Wallace returns Sunday to the Palace of Auburn Hills for the first time since leaving the Pistons after six seasons and one NBA championship to sign a four-year, $60 million free-agent contract with the Bulls.

He has faced his former teammates, whom he calls brothers, during a Bulls blowout victory at the United Center in early January. The laughs and hugs shared on that day can't prepare Wallace for what promises to be an emotional day.

"It's going to be crazy," Wallace says. "Every night I stepped on that court, I swore to protect it. Now I have to go in there and try to tear it down. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be emotional.

"I don't know if fans are going to cheer or boo or throw popcorn or throw ice. I know the fans appreciate the things I did. And I appreciate the things they did for me. But I'm the enemy now, so it might be a love-hate relationship. I know this: It's going to be exciting."

Chicago forward Andres Nocioni missed his eighth game in the last nine Friday night when the Bulls faced the Washington Wizards.

Nocioni aggravated a foot injury Thursday night against Cleveland, his first appearance after sitting out seven straight games. He played nearly 15 minutes, scoring five points against the Cavs but was very sore after the game.

Bulls coach Scott Skiles said Nocioni would be examined by a team doctor and they would map out a strategy for dealing with the injury over the final two months.

Skiles acknowledged it was a "real possibility" that Nocioni could be out for extended period of time. "It's very painful and it takes time to heal," he said of the injury.

Scottie Pippen announced last week that he was hoping to end his three-year retirement from the NBA and make a comeback at 41.  Shortly thereafter, a major creditor lined up to collect on any big bucks the former Bulls star might earn.

It was reported Thursday that the Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling from last year in St. Louis County in which a judge agreed that Pippen owed U.S. Bank about $5.021 million in principal, interest and attorney fees from a dispute over a private jet and company Pippen once owned.

''That's all part of some litigation that has been on the table for some time,'' Pippen told the Sun-Times on Thursday from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ''I really don't have any more comment on it. My lawyer and I are still working to resolve it.''

Pippen said the charter-plane issue is one of many poor business decisions that were made primarily by a former agent, whom he blames for causing him to lose about $27 million in bad investments and questionable accounting.

The Bulls will likely readdress the Pau Gasol situation after the season. Kevin Garnett also could be available at that time.

"Everybody looks to improve," Paxson said. "Everybody has a game plan or a format that they want to operate under. Some people will want to trim salary if they can to put themselves in position (to sign free agents) this summer and other teams will look for draft picks. A lot of things will go on then."

Now that Pau Gasol is unlikely to be dealt, Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the most prominently mentioned possibility for the Bulls, though a late rumor Wednesday had the club trying to acquire Bonzi Wells from the Rockets.

Skiles met with Paxson on Wednesday morning before the team departed for Cleveland.

"As coaches, even though I know more than the average person, I still have to operate under the assumption that this is the team we're going to [have] the rest of the season," Skiles said. "If you don't do that, you're making a mistake."

There were reports on Wednesday that the Bulls were interested in acquiring Zach Randolph.

'We don't have any interest in trading Zach,'' said Blazers' president Steven Patterson.

Rumors of a deal that would send Zach Randolph to Chicago have reportedly accelerated.  

The Bulls have been without a low-post scorer since they traded Eddy Curry to the Knicks.

Portland appears open but reluctant to deal Randolph.

Chicago might instead make a run at Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who has been platooning with Kenny Thomas in Sacramento.

The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly interested in acquiring Chicago forward P.J. Brown.

"I haven't heard that, but it's an interesting possibility," said Brown, who added of the perks of a Cuban-owned team, "They got a great record and a nice locker room. They got lots of nice things there. I wouldn't have a problem with that.

"It's good to hear my name mentioned anywhere because it means that I'm wanted,'' Brown said. "I still got some game left."

According to sources that spoke with the Denver Post, the Mavericks are also interested in Eduardo Najera