The Washington Wizards are encouraging fans and media to arrive early for Friday?s game vs. the Chicago Bulls.?? Security measures will be increased due to the attendance of President Barack Obama, and those attending the game may experience a delay in entering Verizon Center.? To reduce delays, attendees are urged to limit personal belongings.
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Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and there will be no public parking (permit only) in Verizon Center.?

The Chicago Bulls are deeply saddened to announce that Bulls legend Johnny "Red" Kerr has passed away at the age of 76.

"The entire Bulls organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Johnny "Red" Kerr. Johnny spent his entire life around the great game of basketball. His name was synonymous with basketball, both here in Chicago, and throughout the entire NBA," said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. "Those that were fortunate enough to have known Johnny were touched by both his tremendous compassion for people, and his life-long passion for the game of basketball. We will miss him greatly. Our sincere condolences, and our thoughts and prayers, go out to the entire Kerr family."

Kerr, a native of Chicago, was a part of the Chicago Bulls organization in various capacities for 35 of the franchise's 43 seasons, most notably as a team broadcaster for more than 30 years. He also served as the team's first head coach in 1966, and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 1966-67 season, when he directed the first-year Bulls to a playoff appearance. Kerr is the only head coach in NBA history to lead an expansion team to the playoffs during its inaugural season. As head coach of the Bulls, Kerr directed the team to a record of 62-101 (.380). "Red" was also the franchise's business manager for two seasons (1973-74, 1974-75).

Earlier in the day the Bulls sent out a press release revealing the death of team legend Norm Van Lier, making it a sad day in Chicago's history.

The Chicago Bulls are deeply saddened to announce that Bulls legend Johnny ?Red? Kerr has passed away at the age of 76.

?The entire Bulls organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Johnny ?Red? Kerr. Johnny spent his entire life around the great game of basketball. His name was synonymous with basketball, both here in Chicago, and throughout the entire NBA,? said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. ?Those that were fortunate enough to have known Johnny were touched by both his tremendous compassion for people, and his life-long passion for the game of basketball. We will miss him greatly. Our sincere condolences, and our thoughts and prayers, go out to the entire Kerr family.?

Kerr, a native of Chicago, was a part of the Chicago Bulls organization in various capacities for 35 of the franchise?s 43 seasons, most notably as a team broadcaster for more than 30 years. He also served as the team?s first head coach in 1966, and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 1966-67 season, when he directed the first-year Bulls to a playoff appearance. Kerr is the only head coach in NBA history to lead an expansion team to the playoffs during its inaugural season. As head coach of the Bulls, Kerr directed the team to a record of 62-101 (.380). ?Red? was also the franchise?s business manager for two seasons (1973-74, 1974-75).

Earlier in the day the Bulls sent out a press release revealing the death of team legend Norm Van Lier, making it a sad day in Chicago's history.

President Barack Obama may attend Friday's game between the Wizards and Bulls at the Verizon Center.

The Bulls visited Obama at the White House on Thursday.

The Chicago Bulls and Comcast SportsNet Chicago today released the following statements on the passing of Norm Van Lier:

"Norm Van Lier was one of the all-time greats ever to put on a Chicago Bulls uniform,? said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. ?Along with Jerry Sloan, he set a standard for Bulls defense and toughness which we will never forget and which we will always strive to replicate. We will miss him greatly, and extend our deepest sympathies to his family and his many friends."

Van Lier was the full-time pre/post-game analyst on Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports Net and SportsChannel since the 1992-93 season. This season had marked Van Lier?s fourth as an analyst on Bulls Pregame Live and Bulls Postgame Live, in addition to making regular appearances on Comcast SportsNet?s ?Chicago Tribune Live.? He also spent seven of his 10 NBA seasons with the Bulls and still ranks third to only Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in career assists and steals for a Bull.

?Our entire network is deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our dear friend Norm Van Lier,? stated James J. Corno, President of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. ?Norm was easily one of the most popular athletes in Chicago sports history and one of the most popular on-air personalities to ever grace our airwaves. From his start with us on SportsChannel to Comcast SportsNet today, Norm?s passion for the game he loved so much was shared and embraced with his legions of fans. On behalf of everyone at Comcast SportsNet, we send our deepest sympathies to the Van Lier family.?

The Chicago Bulls selected Van Lier in the third round of the 1969 NBA Draft, but immediately traded him to the Cincinnati Royals, with whom he led the NBA in assists in 1971. The Bulls re-acquired Van Lier during the 1971-1972 season. He remained with the Bulls until 1978, appearing in three All-Star games (1974, 1976, 1977) during that tenure.
Nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" for his tenacity and aggression, Van Lier was one of the most popular Bulls players of the 1970s. During his ten-year career, Van Lier was named to three NBA All-Defense First Teams and five NBA All-Defense Second Teams. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1974. Van Lier was waived by the Bulls in October 1978, played briefly with the Milwaukee Bucks, and retired in 1979 with career totals of 8,770 points and 5,217 assists.

After retirement, Norm became a popular Chicago area broadcaster and had a supporting role in the 2002 movie Barbershop. In 1989, he was the assistant coach of the Worcester Counts in the World Basketball League.

The White House has announced that the Chicago Bulls team will be visiting with President Barack Obama at approximately 2:45 p.m. CT in the Blue Room of the White House on Thursday.

"The opportunity to visit President Obama at the White House is a great honor for the Chicago Bulls organization," stated Steve Schanwald, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the team. "The President has been a fan of the Bulls for many years and we are very appreciative of this opportunity to say hello to him and pay our respects."

Luol Deng has seen his playing time reduced since last week's trades.

"It's been tough figuring out the system and then we had the trade, so you have to adapt to what's going on," Deng said. "I just have to figure it out."

Deng is averaging 11.6 points over the last three games after averaging 17.2 points in his previous 11.

The no-headband rule that was initially implemented by former coach Scott Skiles in Chicago still exists.

John Salmons, Brad Miller and Tim Thomas, who were all acquired by the Bulls last week, have worn headbands during their careers.

Bulls general manager John Paxson has left the door open for soon-to-be free agent Ben Gordon to return to the team.

Gordon, who has turned down two long-term contract extensions, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"In our minds, we have not ruled out keeping Ben Gordon at all," Paxson said. "There may have to be another move in the summer that makes sense. Even though the last two years we've tried to hammer out deals and it hasn't worked, I understand his value."

New Bulls' acquisition Tim Thomas made it clear that he has no issues in being traded back to Chicago, and according to the Chicago Sun-Times Thomas also made it clear that the problems which led to his release the first time were to do with former coach Scott Skiles and not GM John Paxson.

'[Paxson] really didn't go into it,'' Thomas said. ''I'm pretty sure he felt a certain way about the whole situation. There was a lot of heat on the organization at that particular time. There's really no need to talk about it. That's in the past. The guy who was pretty much controlling things is gone."