CHICAGO, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Rumors Chicago might be in the market for Kobe Bryant -- which the Bulls tried to knock down -- overshadowed the team's season opener in New Jersey.
Bulls General Manager John Paxson put a temporary halt to all the speculation by saying "There's not a deal to be done," the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.
Paxson insisted that despite several discussions, the Bulls and Lakers never came close to a trade for Bryant, whose seven-year contract has an opt-out clause in the summer of 2009.
"We talked a lot about parameters, but specific things, we never got down to the nuts and bolts of it because there was never a deal to be done," said Paxson.
In Los Angeles, Lakers coach Phil Jackson reiterated that his team doesn't want to trade Bryant but he refused to close the door to the possibility.
"I don't think anything ends," Jackson told reporters. "Do things end just because a day goes by?"
