Bulls star not hurt by trade talk News Utah Jazz

LONDON ? His name was bandied about quite a bit over the summer, mentioned perhaps most prominently among several as a possibility for being traded to Utah for Jazz forward Carlos Boozer. But sitting Sunday in a folding chair at The O2 Arena in London, 3,950 miles away from where he plays for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, Tyrus Thomas shrugs it all off.

Thomas, in fact, maintains he didn't even ponder the notion of being included in a three-team deal with the Jazz ? one that, as heavily rumored and according to some supposedly discussed, also would have landed still on-the-block Boozer with the Bulls while sending Chicago guard Kirk Hinrich to Portland. "That's not for me to entertain," said Thomas, whose Bulls face the Jazz in a preseason game Tuesday night here. "My job is for me to get better during the summer and get prepared for the season, and my agent's job is to worry about trades and all the other stuff," he added. "I mean, honestly, I didn't entertain it." No pondering the possibility? No worrying about what might be? No week of wackiness? Not so, Thomas insisted with his post-practice music turned off but his ear buds still in ? the effects of a mild concussion sustained in a preseason game against Indiana on Friday no longer a concern, either. "It wasn't crazy for me at all," he said of the early to mid July period in which the rumor ran rampant, replete from heavy attention not just in Utah and Chicago but also across the country on ESPN.com and elsewhere. "I mean, that's what happens when you're in the NBA." Rumors also spawn more rumors when you're in the NBA, which may be why the Chicago forward felt compelled later in July to respond to an item on the Bulls' Web site, Bulls.com, that suggested Thomas ? when the trade appeared perhaps imminent ? had posted a message on his Facebook social networking page that said, "Playing with Deron Williams would be sweet!" Thomas' Twitter response at the time, according to HoopsHype.com: "To clear the record, I never commented on playing with D Will. And I am a BULL. Let it go people!" On Sunday, Thomas ? stonefaced as Stonehenge ? reiterated he was not the one who commented about the possibility of playing with Jazz point Williams in Utah. But he couldn't help but crack a smile when asked for his thoughts on two Jazz fans at Utah's preseason game against Denver last Thursday who, with one wearing a mock Jazz jersey with Boozer's name and the makeshift Bulls jersey with Thomas' name, held up a sign that read "Trade Us." "It don't surprise me," Thomas said. e-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com