The bronze status of Pippen will join former teammate Michael Jordan and be unveiled during the upcoming season.

The only difference is that Pippen’s statue will be inside the arena while Jordan’s greets fans on the outside.

Pippen called being inducted into the Hall of Fame a great honor and said Jordan was the best teammate he could ever have.

Team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said there was no better way to honor Pippen.

McGrady has expressed his interest in joining the Bulls via his Twitter page, but would have to accept a lesser role than when he was starring for the Houston Rockets and one of the highest-paid players in the NBA. McGrady would undoubtedly come off the bench, hopefully providing a spark for a team lacking depth last season.McGrady was traded to the New York Knicks last season to finish out his contract, averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 assists in 24 starts. He has averaged over 21 points and almost five assists per game over his career, which began with the Toronto Raptors.

There were rumors that McGrady wanted to join Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in South Beach, but the Heat never made a run at the former All-Star, giving Chicago the opportunity to pounce. He becomes the sixth free agent acquisition for the Bulls this offseason.

The 37-year old is an excellent rebounder and defender and is a solid addition to an already formidable front line.

Watson was considered a prime candidate to head to Miami, but they ended up with Carlos Arroyo instead.

He will now serve as the backup point guard to Derrick Rose.

In exchange for Watson, the Bulls sent the Golden State Warriors their second-round draft pick in 2011.

Three games in a row. Two games above .500. Wins in back-to-back games since the All-Star break.

The Chicago Bulls hope they are finding their stride at just the right time.

Kirk Hinrich scored 20 points to lead the way, and the Bulls continued their good work with a 100-94 win at Minnesota on Friday night.

Derrick Rose scored 19 points and Luol Deng added 18 for Chicago, which won for the fifth time in its past six games and stayed one percentage point ahead of Miami for sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls trail fifth-place Toronto by two games.

Minnesota led this one 58-55 at halftime and was as close as one point early in the fourth quarter. Brad Miller led Chicago with 10 rebounds.

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Were the playoffs to begin today, the Chicago Bulls would be in the postseason. But the Bulls hope for far better things in the season’s final 31 games.

Chicago opens the post All-Star section of its schedule Wednesday night on the road against the New York Knicks. The Bulls are eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, holding onto the final playoff spot in the conference by one game over Milwaukee.

But with a record of 25-26, the Bulls hope they can play better down the stretch and move up in the conference standings. It’s certainly possible, given that Chicago sits just two games behind sixth-seed Charlotte, and is one percentage point behind seventh-place Miami.

The Bulls showed some signs of better play in the two weeks leading up to the All-Star break, winning six of their final 10 games. Chicago returns home Friday to play 13-win Minnesota, then plays host to 20-32 Philadelphia on Saturday.

Chicago has a chance to continue its winning ways, as the Bulls don’t see a team with a plus-.500 record until Portland comes to town next weekend.

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