Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland and the Lakers all made last-ditch efforts to acquire Kevin Garnett before losing out to Boston.

The Knicks were told last month that they didn?t have the assets to land Garnett, which has to be a bitter pill for Isiah Thomas to swallow.

It is no secret that the Bulls, among others, have long coveted future Celtic Kevin Garnett, and according to Sam Smith, Chicago tried to deal for Garnett as recently as last month's NBA Draft.

Timberwolves sources say there were discussions about the Bulls' first-round pick, which they used for Joakim Noah, a future first-rounder, Tyrus Thomas and potential short-term contracts involving P.J. Brown and others.

Minnesota balked before the 2007 draft with the Bulls, though not as strongly as it did a year ago when the Bulls were willing to part with Luol Deng, Tyson Chandler and the No. 2 overall pick in the draft for Garnett. Teams then were told Minnesota would never deal Garnett.

According to the Boston Globe, the Celtics will send Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and two first-round picks to the Timberwolves.

The deal is said to be agreed upon by both teams pending an agreement for a massive, $60-plus million contract extension for Garnett. It would put Boston deep into the luxury tax with several roster spots open, so there was still a question about a final agreement. But the players supposedly have been told to expect a deal.

With a second home robbery in the Chicago area involving an NBA player, the Bulls are making sure their own players are taking appropriate safety measures.

Eddy Curry, along with his wife and an employee were tied up and robbed on Saturday morning in their Chicago suburb, mere weeks after a similar robbery that happened to Antoine Walker on July 10th.

?Our team security representative has been reaching out to our players over the weekend to make them aware of what has happened and to take any precautions that they feel are necessary,? said Matt Yob of the Bulls? media relations department.

Curry and Walker were both born and raised in Chicago.

Kirk Hinrich was a late addition to Team USA last year. This time, he could be a late subtraction.

The U.S. National squad is looking at some difficult roster cuts before the Olympic qualifying tournament begins in Las Vegas, while Hinrich is facing difficult competition.

It?s probably safe to assume Orlando?s J.J. Redick will not make the final roster, so Team USA will need to get from 16 players down to 12 once practice resumes Aug. 13.

At the July 22 intrasquad scrimmage, only Redick played fewer minutes than Hinrich?s 13. The Bulls guard finished with a mundane 4 points, 1 assist and 3 turnovers.

The Team USA coaching staff recognized last year that Hinrich is not a true point guard and played him behind New Orleans? Chris Paul during the FIBA World Championships in Japan.

The Chicago Bulls announced today the signings of 2007 draft picks Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray. Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Noah (6-11, 232) was drafted ninth overall by Chicago after an outstanding college career at Florida, where he played a pivotal role in helping UF become the first school in the past 15 years to claim back-to-back national championships. In his three seasons with the Gators, he started 78 of his 108 appearances and averaged 10.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.72 bpg and 1.7 apg. He also shot .612 from the field (second best in school history) and .684 from the free throw line.

Gray (7-0, 270) was the Bulls? second selection in NBA Draft 2007 and the 49th pick overall. He played in 113 games over four seasons with Pittsburgh and averaged 9.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.3 apg and 1.15 bpg and shot .550 from the floor. The Third-Team All-American and Big East/Aeropostale Scholar Athlete of the Year led the Panthers in many categories as a senior in 2006-07, including marks of 13.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.72 bpg and .565 field goal shooting.

Former NBA player Ron Mercer surrendered to police on Wednesday to face a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a scuffle in a strip club in April, police said.

Police said Mercer's friend, 34-year-old Robert Edward Johnson, was also charged with felony aggravated assault for stabbing a bouncer at the club in the same incident.

The pair got into a verbal argument with a dancer at Anthony's Show Place on April 21 and were asked to leave by the security guard, Keith Battle.

A fight broke out among the three men and Johnson admitted to police that he stabbed the bouncer in the right side and shoulder with a knife. Battle was not seriously hurt.

Another bouncer, William Beels Jr., was punched in the face by Mercer, police said.

As F.B.I. officials, the news media and fans pore over video footage of games refereed by Tim Donaghy, looking for curious foul calls and other such behavior, several seconds of a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors in February could attract attention.

The Bulls-Warriors game of Feb. 9, played at Golden State and broadcast on ESPN, was tied, 112-112, with 23 seconds remaining. While a Bulls guard dribbled between midcourt and the 3-point shot line ? clearly working the clock down for an attempt at a final shot ? Warriors center Andris Biedrens stood in the lane without guarding anyone for about seven seconds, which is grounds for a defensive three-seconds violation.

Donaghy, stationed behind Biedrens on the baseline, clearly stepped forward and tapped Biedrens on the waist with 16 seconds left. Biedrens, by then at the edge of the lane, then immediately moved clear of the paint, and play continued.

The penalty for defensive three seconds is the assessment of a technical foul and retention of the ball. Golden State could have faced a 3- or 4-point deficit before getting the ball back.

Instead, the Bulls had a shot blocked with six seconds left, and Golden State missed a half-court heave to leave the score tied as regulation time ran out. The Warriors won in overtime, 123-121. According to several gambling Web sites, the odds opened with the Warriors favored by a point and a half.

Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray and JamesOn Curry will sign their rookie contracts later this week with the Chicago Bulls.

That means the roster breaks down as Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, Thabo Sefolosha, Adrian Griffin and Curry at guard; Luol Deng, Thomas, Noah, Smith, Khryapa and Nocioni at forward; and Ben Wallace and Gray at center.

"My intention right now is to stay with 14 roster spots filled and maybe go into the season that way," Paxson said.

John Paxson plans on opening talks next week with Ben Gordon and Luol Deng in an attempt to get the two to sign contract extensions before they become restricted free agents next summer.

''I think both of them know how all of us in this organization feel about them,'' Paxson said. ''I also am realistic and know it's not often that contracts come up and they have a chance to get security.

''This is an extension. They're not free agents. I'll go about it like I always have; I think I'll be fair. I'm not going to put pressure on us to get something done. I'd like to do it, but if it doesn't get done, it's not going to be a reflection on either side not having tried.''

Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha are to make national team appearances for their respective countries this summer, but Andres Nocioni confirmed on Wednesday he will not be playing for Argentina.

"I'm going to practice for myself," Nocioni said. "I started to do my exercises and practice so [the Argentine media] believed I was going to play for the national team. But it's almost impossible.

"I want to play for the national team, but the problem right now is my leg isn't normal. I'm really skinny. My leg isn't strong enough."

Nocioni's decision is a relief to Bulls general manager John Paxson, who'd rather see Nocioni work out and continue to recover from the plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

"In a perfect world, all of us would like to see our guys not overextend themselves," Paxson said. "But it's just a part of the NBA today."