With Tracy McGrady being sent home as the Rockets look to deal him, the Bulls are one of the teams expected to call Houston.

Ten years ago, McGrady chose the Magic when the Bulls had cap room and tried to sign him as a free-agent.

"Whoever gets me is going to get a hungry player," McGrady said recently. "I don't care if I go to the moon. It doesn't matter."

The Bulls have expiring contracts in Brad Miller and Jerome James.  The team may also want to include John Salmons in a deal for McGrady.

Bulls general manager Gar Forman commented Tuesday on rumors that the organization will soon fire coach Vinny Del Negro.

"Our organization's behind what we're doing," Forman said. "And we're still optimistic of where we're going. I don't think anybody's happy where we're at today. And our goal is to get better each and every day."

Forman was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying that the decision to fire Del Negro hasn't yet been made.

"Up to this point in our season, we've had a number of injuries to some key guys," the executive added. "We've played a very, very difficult schedule up to this point in the season. There's been some things that have gone against us. But to me, those are all excuses. And there's an old saying, I'm sure most of you have heard it: 'You are what your record is.' And at this point in the season, we're 11-17.

"With that said, at 11-17 nobody in this organization's happy with where we're at. I know the players are disappointed that we're 11-17, the coaches are disappointed that we're 11-17 and I know the management is disappointed. But most importantly I know the fans are disappointed at where we're at right now."

Bulls forward Luol Deng returned to practice on Tuesday after missing Monday's session to rest his fractured left thumb.

Deng is expected to start on Tuesday night against the Pacers.

He has been playing with a tiny fracture near the tip of his thumb since suffering the injury during a Dec. 14 practice.

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is denying reports that the team will fire him once they find a suitable replacement.

Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, reported on Sunday night that a decision has been made and the Bulls are just waiting to find Del Negro's replacement.

The coach said he and Bulls management are on the same page.

"It's just funny to me," Del Negro said. "There's really nothing to say. You have all these people that have rumors, and everyone has their sources. It's just not accurate.

"I don't have time to deal with rumors. I talk to Gar and Pax every day. They're at practice every day. It's just that you got to deal with those things. It's unfortunate. Everyone has their source. No one's sources so far have been very accurate. My focus is getting the team ready for [Tuesday's game] against Indiana."

Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas says that his recent forearm injury actually made him a calmer player.

Thomas had 21 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in his return to the court on Saturday night.

"It made me calmer," he said of the injury. "I try to be anyway -- on the floor, off the floor. I had a lot of time to think. You think, some guys have season- or career-ending injuries. It makes you understand what you're here to do. Just try to take advantage of the moment."

Thomas also knocked down a pair of important jumpers in Chicago's win over New Orleans.

"Confidence is a big thing for a young team," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Whenever you start trying to limit guys too much, it affects their mentality and makes them play slow. Sometimes you have to let them go through the pains of developing their games.

"As long as Tyrus plays with energy and (plays) hard, you're going to have to deal with some of the mistakes. Hopefully some of the mistakes will get less and less."

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro believes that center Joakim Noah should be a candidate to make the All-Star team.

Noah is averaging 10.5 points and 12.4 rebounds, third-best in the NBA.

"He's been strong," Del Negro said. "He's one of the top rebounders in the league with his energy and his length. He's around that basket, and he's been pretty consistent the whole year."

Del Negro was then asked if he'd begin pushing for his young center to make the Eastern Conference squad.

"No question," the coach said. "Everyone will talk about his rebounding, but he's made strides with his offense. He works hard. He puts the time in. He's building on that, working before practice, after, after shootarounds.

"When you work at things, you usually get better and he's seeing that. He's gaining confidence with that."

Noah seemed embarrassed by the talk.

"I don't think about it at all," he said. "That's not why I go out there and play the games; it's not for individual accolades. It's definitely flattering, humbling, but at the same time that's not why we go out there and play the game."

The Bulls have decided to fire head coach Vinny Del Negro, but they are still looking for a replacement, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.

The sources say that Chicago's lack of a decision on a replacement is the main thing that is keeping Del Negro employed.

There were internal discussions about John Paxson, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations, coaching the team, but he decided against it.

Chicago also reportedly contacted Doug Collins, who turned down the job as well.

The Bulls got forward Tyrus Thomas back on Saturday night in their 96-85 win over the Hornets.

Thomas missed 22 games following surgery to repair a fractured radius in his left forearm.

He had 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in his return.

"You saw what Tyrus' athleticism does for us," coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Del Negro said that Thomas will come off the bench for now, but he'll certainly play a key role for the Bulls.

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro says that John Salmons and Brad Miller will continue coming off the bench.

Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson will be in Chicago's starting lineup on Saturday against New Orleans.

"I just think it's another ballhandler out there, another pick-and-roll guy," Del Negro said of Hinrich. "Kirk's one of our best defenders, if not our best defender. We can play with a little more thrust or pace with Kirk.

"John and Brad are still going to get minutes, but where we're at right now warrants some kind of change. It's not engraved in stone or a permanent thing. But right now, I just feel that's the direction we need to go."

The Bulls have lost thirteen of their last seventeen games and Salmons is shooting a career-low 38.2 percent from the field.

The Bulls are reportedly looking at potential replacements for head coach Vinny Del Negro.

Despite recent insistence from Chicago management that Del Negro has their support, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that "background work" is being done on former Nets coach Lawrence Frank.

The Bulls have just four wins in their last 17 games.