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Over the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at each player on the Bulls roster and see where they fit in for the future.

Brian Scalabrine

Position: Forward | Age: 34 | 2011-12 salary: $1,352,000

Season recap: Scalabrine played the same role this season that he played during the previous campaign. He was a pseudo coach throughout the season and only saw action in 28 games. Scalabrine actually played a handful of meaningful minutes in January while the Bulls dealt with myriad injuries, but his value was in practices and in the locker room as a sounding board for players and Tom Thibodeau.

Season highlight: In the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Scalabrine knocked down a jumper as the clock wound down. As usual, the crowd exploded in applause when the shot went through. He explained moments later that it was the same spot on the floor Michael Jordan knocked down his final jumper as a Bull.

Season lowlight: Playing in the final minute on Jan. 25 against the Indiana Pacers as part of an offense/defense switch with Carlos Boozer, Derrick Rose found Scalabrine for a wide-open 3 that would have given the Bulls the lead, but Scalabrine missed the shot, leaving a packed United Center feeling blue.

Notes: Scalabrine remains one of the most popular players in the NBA. No matter what city the arena was in, fans still went crazy, chanting his name wherever the Bulls played.

"So there's three incredibly loud cheers every game that you can count on," Kyle Korver said in February. "The first one is when the doughnut races the coffee races the bagel and everyone swears they pick the coffee. The reality is not everyone picked the coffee, but everyone cheers like they picked the coffee. Two is when we score 100 points and everyone gets a free Big Mac or whatever they get. And three is when Scalabrine comes in the game. Guarantee, every single game, the crowd goes nuts no matter where we're at."

Quotes: "What's funny is the perception of myself is clearly different than when I'm out and about," Scalabrine said in January. "My perception of myself is, I don't believe I'm the 12th man, the 13th man, the 15th man on a team. I believe that I'm a good basketball player that can go out there and play. Now, I'm not unrealistic. I know right now there are four bigs that are all better than me. I'm not unrealistic in that. But when I wake up on a gameday, I feel like I'm playing that day. "And if something happens, I'm going to play 40 minutes, I've got to be ready to play 40 minutes. This happened to me in the past. I played big minutes and I had to keep playing and playing and playing. And you have to be ready for that. You can't just, because you're not playing, not work. I work every day like I'm going to be playing basketball for 44 minutes a night."

What's next?: The Bulls have to decide if they want to bring Scalabrine back next season. The veteran forward has said he would like to continue to play, but he knows this may have been his final season. If he is not brought back, the affable student of the game could have broadcasting or coaching jobs waiting for him.

FINAL GRADES -- Regular Season: C Postseason: N/A (he didn’t play)

Brian Scalabrine joined "Waddle & Silvy" to discuss the Bulls' loss to the Magic, their budding rivalry with the Pacers and matching up with the Heat.



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NEWARK, N.J. -- Carlos Boozer scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in the Chicago Bulls' 108-87 win over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night. He also picked up some stitches in his eye after being knocked with an elbow in the second half.

Boozer said he didn't remember exactly who knocked into him, or when it happened, but he had to get "three or four" stitches to close the gash.

"I didn't really see it," he said. "I guess they told me I got hit with an elbow. And I didn't know it was bleeding so much. I wanted to keep playing. I was hoping I was going to get some free throws, but they told me it wouldn't stop bleeding. So we had to come back and get a couple stitches."

Speaking of injuries, Bulls forward Luol Deng said that he is feeling fine after sitting out the past two weeks because of a torn ligament in his wrist.

"It feels great," he said with a smile after playing 34 minutes and scoring 19 points.

Deng says his conditioning hasn't been a problem at all.

"The weird thing is I'm not [winded]," he said. "I'm really not at all. It was my wrist, so I did a lot of running while I was off, but conditioning-wise I'm still there. I might be a little bit [winded], but I'm not feeling it at all. The first game my legs did get heavy, but not so much winded. But it's been fine."

Scal gets more love: Former Net, and perpetual fan favorite, Brian Scalabrine came into the game late in the fourth quarter to raucous applause from the crowd at the Prudential Center. His teammate, Bulls guard Kyle Korver, tried to make sense of all the White Mamba love after the game.

"So there's three incredibly loud cheers every game that you can count on," Korver said. "The first one is when the doughnut races the coffee races the bagel and everyone swears they pick the coffee. The reality is not everyone picked the coffee, but everyone cheers like they picked the coffee. Two is when we score 100 points and everyone gets a free Big Mac or whatever they get. And three is when Scalabrine comes in the game. Guarantee, every single game, the crowd goes nuts no matter where we're at."

Has Korver ever seen anything like it?

"Never," he said. "Tonight, I talked to some people after the game and everyone's in shock that it happened. It's just part of the game now for us. We know in the fourth quarter, if we're winning by five points, we know there's someone out there that's like, 'Put in Scalabrine!' Guys start chanting. He got MVP chants tonight. That's just the way it goes with Scal. He's a big deal.”

Is there any love in the NBA like the love for the White Mamba?

"It is a special love," Korver said with a smile. "That only Brian Scalabrine gets in this league."

CHICAGO -- With his team down by two and the clock winding down under the 30-second mark, Derrick Rose raced down the floor and the 21,755 people at the United Center figured he would do what he had always done. That Rose would come all the way down the court and make a basket to tie the game or give the Chicago Bulls the lead.

But when the Indiana Pacers defense collapsed on Rose, he passed the ball. Many people in the stands had to be shocked when he did that, but what came next is sure to have the city of Chicago talking well into Thursday. Rose, the reigning MVP of the league, passed the ball to … Brian Scalabrine?

Yep.

Scalabrine, who was wide open in the corner, missed the shot and the Bulls ended up losing the game, 95-90. After it was over, nobody in the Bulls' locker room was blaming Rose for his decision to pass the ball to the crowd favorite, who rarely plays in crunch time.

"We were looking for Derrick in the open floor and he made the right play," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "The defensive help was there. They collapsed on Derrick and Scalabrine was wide open in the corner for a 3. It is a make-or-miss league and he missed."

Scalabrine had come into the game as a defensive substitution for Bulls forward Carlos Boozer. But when David West missed a shot, Rose decided to run the ball up the court as fast as he could. He didn't seem to have any second thoughts about his decision.

"Trusting my teammate," Rose explained. "I think it was a good shot. At the time, I thought I didn't have a shot. And I think I made the right play. But if anything, I'm going to learn from it. We're going to learn from it as a team. We're not going to try and put ourselves in this position anymore. And put teams away early."

Scalabrine was clearly upset after missing the shot and left the locker room with speaking to reporters. But his teammates had no issue with his shot selection, or Rose's decision to give him the shot.

"D. Rose is D. Rose," Bulls guard Ronnie Brewer said. "He makes plays for himself, he makes plays for others. It shows his unselfishness that he made a play. A guy was wide open in the corner, [Rose] could have took a shot with a guy on him or passed the ball to a wide-open person. He passed the ball to a wide-open person who had a great shot, who works on that shot every day. It's a good shot, unfortunately it didn't go in for him."

The last word: "The score tells it all. They came out and played hard. They were the aggressor. And that was the story of the night." -- Rose

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls forward Brian Scalabrine wants to play in the NBA for as long as he possibly can, but after spending 11 years in the league, he realizes that he must at least start thinking about what he wants to do after his playing career ends.

"There are a few things that's on my radar," he said. "I want to play for as long as I can. Eventually one day I probably won't be able to play in the NBA. But I had a fun time playing in Europe (during the lockout). I was thinking about going back there."

After saying repeatedly over the past few years that he really didn't want to get into coaching, Scalabrine admitted that he may take a closer look in the next few years if the right situation presented itself, especially at USC, his alma mater.

"Right now, an iron in the fire would be I see USC's kind of struggling and I would like to maybe go and be their head coach," he said. "It's very, very unrealistic for a player from the NBA to slide right into a head coaching job in college, especially at a high profile program like that.

"But just going through the interview process with the AD [Pat Haden] and just talking to him. I would assume that I could sell myself. Everything I do I believe in. I think that I would do a good job. I think I would work with the kids. I think I would be fine recruiting. I think I would put the right people in position to help me coach the way college is."

Of course, Scalabrine, who has become a cult hero throughout his years with the Boston Celtics and the Bulls, says there's also a chance he might get into television.

"There's also the opportunity of going back to Boston and doing TV for the Boston Celtics," he said. "Sort of what Stacey King does [for the Bulls]. I've talked to Stacey about it and he says he really likes his job and he has fun doing it. I think that would be a good thing to do. But maybe I just do nothing. Go home and spend time with my children, I don't know."

Scalabrine said that his time playing in Italy has re-energized his passion for the game.

"Basketball is probably more in my blood than I thought," he said. "When I went to Europe and was playing all those minutes, it really sparked up this ... I really want to ... this game is a good game. There's a lot to learn. A lot to teach. I just don't know in the NBA how much teaching is going on. Besides Doc [Rivers] and [Tom Thibodeau], who are, to me, phenomenal, another level. It would be very, very difficult to get to that point."

Scalabrine admits that a college coaching job is very intriguing to him. He wants to share all that he's learned during his long career as as an NBA player and pass it along to different generations.

"I think the only three jobs that I would ever take would be [as] an assistant or a head coach at USC, Oregon or Washington," he said. "Because I really enjoy the Pac [12]. I like the way the system is. I like those three places a lot. USC being a place I went to school so ... With the Oregon and Washington [jobs] I have a lot of connections, I know a lot of the high school coaches up there, a lot of the college coaches up there. I think I would do a good job of recruiting the area. So when I say I don't want to coach, the NBA level is just a whole 'nother animal with the games coming at you.

"But ... two games a week, one game week, you can study. You can really prepare. You can prepare your team. It's a much different life than going through a walk-through in a hotel ballroom. And it's a more laidback lifestyle. It's not as high profile. You've got to work, but it's not as high profile as the NBA where it's just one thing after another after another. Media and this thing and that thing. It's a much different life."

He knows it will probably take a few years to even be considered for any coaching position, if that is the direction he decides to go, but the man who has spent most of his life around the game knows that you can't get any job without at least interviewing for one. If an interview pops up in the next couple of years, Scalabrine certainly isn't opposed to sitting down and speaking with whoever is in charge.

"I think for me it's just about going through the interview process," he said. "Just seeing what people are looking for and then learning that way. Anytime you do something, you have an opportunity to learn. Let's say I'm putting together my resume; my offensive philosophy, my defensive philosophy. As I'm putting it together there's going to be holes in it. You can fill those holes as you go through that.

"Right now the (USC) job's not even available, I'm just saying. Those are the schools ... I like those areas. I think I would do good with that."

Scalabrine already seems to have nailed down his potential recruiting pitch.

"I think I would be honest with kids," he said. "Like this is the deal, everybody wants to go to the NBA, everybody. Even guys that have no chance of making it to the NBA want to go to the NBA. And I can tell them, 'Listen I had no chance of making the NBA and I made an 11-year career out of it. So I want to show you guys, if you want to make it, it takes work. It takes real hard work, maybe stuff that you don't want to do. And then find out what you're good at and being really good at that one thing. Then get an opportunity and then you build yourself up."'

Scalabrine looks forward to sharing his experiences with younger players down the line. He looks forward to that challenge that could come with teaching them something new.

"Here's the funny thing: I remember in college we used to work out with the strength coach," he said. "If I was a head coach in college, once a week I would work with my team. I'd be doing everything they would do, going through all the workouts that they would go through. If we were doing conditioning, I would go through the conditioning with them.

"Because I want to show you guys, 'Yeah, I'm your head coach, but going through that with you, it means that I'm in the fight with you guys. I'm going through the fire with you guys.' I think that kind of stuff is important. I'm not just some figure that is not relating to my players. I'm with you, you're with me. We're building this thing together. I want you to have the best thing in your life if I can help you go here, go there, NBA, overseas, get a job. I feel like I can help you do that.'"

No matter which direction he decides to go, it's clear that Scalabrine holds Rivers and Thibodeau in the highest regard.

"My position on the team had no bearing on the way those guys treated me," he said. "Me and Doc would talk just as much as probably, not the starters because they had to talk about the game, but the sixth man who he counts on and the 15th man who he doesn't count on. We talked philosophy and ideas and I would bring a play to him and he would like it.

"The same thing with Thibs. He's like, 'What do ya got?' And I'll say, 'We'll they're playing Kyle [Korver] a certain way on this 51. What do you think about going 51 counter?' He's like, 'I like 51 counter. OK' And then he'll tell me something and the reasoning will blow right over my head. And I would have to go over to him and ask him, 'What's your reasoning behind doing this?' And he'll spell it out for me. 'Oh, I see. This is what you're looking for. This is what you were thinking about. OK, I got you. Now I understand.' So it's like the game is always doing that, learning. Learning from Thibs, learning from Doc, learning from Derrick [Rose]. 'Derrick, when you play against him, what do you think?' [He says] 'Oh man, when I play against this guy I have to do it this way.' 'Oh, OK' ... It's all learning, learning, learning, learning, and I really enjoy that."

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- It's just before 3 p.m. on a bitterly cold January day and I have just pulled into a hotel parking lot looking for a folk hero.

Brian Scalabrine may not be the richest player in the NBA, but he is certainly one of the most popular. Every time he enters a game, no matter what city he's in, fans go insane. They chant his name until Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau relents and sends the veteran forward into the game. Scalabrine knows that fans love him, but even he struggles with all the hype. After all, he just wants to be considered a solid pro. He doesn't understand why he is viewed so differently.

"What's funny is the perception of myself is clearly different than when I'm out and about," Scalabrine said. "My perception of myself is, I don't believe I'm the 12th man, the 13th man, the 15th man on a team. I believe that I'm a good basketball player that can go out there and play. Now, I'm not unrealistic. I know right now there are four bigs that are all better than me. I'm not unrealistic in that. But when I wake up on a gameday, I feel like I'm playing that day.

"And if something happens, I'm going to play 40 minutes, I've got to be ready to play 40 minutes. This happened to me in the past. I played big minutes and I had to keep playing and playing and playing. And you have to be ready for that. You can't just, because you're not playing, not work. I work every day like I'm going to be playing basketball for 44 minutes a night."

He doesn't have to worry about that on this day because his Bulls have the day off. Dressed in a white hoodie and jeans, and carrying a hot chocolate and a big computer case over his shoulder, the 6-9, 235-pounder throws the big black case into the back and hops into my car. We're off to run some errands.

How did we get here?

Scalabrine, who makes his offseason home outside of Seattle, doesn't have a car with him at the moment. He lives in a hotel in Deerfield, Ill. If he needs a lift he usually just gets one from Erik Helland, the Bulls' strength and conditioning coach, or one of his teammates. The only reason I've been pressed into service is because I asked Scalabrine to go on the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. He said he would if I would drive him around the next day. I said no problem, as long as I could write about the proceedings. I want to know what it's like being around the White Mamba for a day. I want to see how he gets treated by an adoring public.

Our first stop is to the Apple Store in Northbrook Court. After several years of use, Scalabrine fears that his hard drive may be fried.

"Computer crashed," he said. "It was just a matter of time. Enough is enough. It tapped out."

The day gets off to a good start considering we find the closest parking spot to the front door. As the car pulls out of its spot and we slide in, Scalabrine can't help but smile.

"It's our lucky day," he said. "The [expletive] Mamba."

We walk into the mall and into the store. As soon as Scalabrine sets foot into the trendy computer haven, almost everyone takes notice.

"The White Mamba," one teenager said to his friends, as if he's just seen the Loch Ness Monster or another mythical creature.

Scalabrine heads to the front in hopes that he's not too late to re-arrange his appointment that was well over an hour ago. He is stopped by an Apple employee.

"What's the name?" the middle aged man said.

"Scalabrine," he responds, without a hint of arrogance. "Brian Scalabrine."

It becomes obvious very quickly that in a store full of people who know exactly who Scalabrine is, this man doesn't have a clue. He asks Scalabrine when his appointment is for and when Scalabrine said it was for 1:45, the middle-aged man said he won't be able to help the Mamba until 10:30 at the earliest.



Scalabrine can't believe what he is hearing.

"This is what happens when Kyle Korver goes over his massage [time]," he said, just shaking his head.

Scalabrine debates whether he should just leave the computer and come back for it in a couple of days. But then a stroke of luck happens for the big man. A "Genius" comes from the back of the store and asks for a picture. Scalabrine happily obliges.

"You have any power to move me to the front?" he asks.

Within minutes, there are two Apple employees standing at the front with Scalabrine.

"It's good to be the Mamba!" Scalabrine exclaims.

The group opens up the computer only to find steak sauce on one of the keys.

Scalabrine, who repeatedly talks about how much his misses his wife and two young daughters, explains that he is living the type of life that any college kid can appreciate. Sometimes he just sits in front of the television or the computer, eats in his boxers, and watches movies or basketball games.

"I keep it in super perspective," he said later about the type of star studded life the general public believes that he leads. "I don't even have a car, so 99 percent of the time I'm either traveling on the road or in a hotel room. Tonight would have been no different. If my computer didn't break, I wouldn't have came to the mall. I would have just sat at home and watched movies. Maybe went back to the facilities, shoot, maybe go in the steam room. It's a simplified life that I live and sometimes it's good to get a break from the hustle and bustle of normal life."

Don't let him fool you, though, normal life suits Scalabrine just fine. He enjoys talking to people and his ability to communicate with everyone, from all walks of life, is on display all the time. After diagnosing the issue (the hard drive is, in fact, in danger), and explaining to Scalabrine that his computer would have to stay at the store for a couple of days, Moorad, the young 'Genius' behind the counter admits something to one of his favorite players.

"I waited on Derrick Rose for 45 minutes and didn't even think about asking for a picture," he tells Scalabrine.

A few moments later, the White Mamba is taking a picture with Moorad in front of the bar.

As we walk out of the store, Scalabrine signs a couple more autographs, taking his popularity in stride. There's no doubt he enjoys being loved, but he doesn't want all the adulation to define him.

"The only thing that I don't like about [the popularity] is the individualism," he said. "I'm just not an individual guy. Like I don't think if I make a pass to Jimmy Butler and he scores a layup that that's a bad thing. I don't think if I make a pass to Omer [Asik] and he scores, that's a bad thing."

We head into Teavana next, a tea store in the middle of the mall, in which Scalabrine has become close to the older woman who manages the store. He swears by the mixes of tea she has put together for him in the past. He trusts she would brew him up something good.

When we walk in and we're told the woman no longer works there, Scalabrine can't believe it.

"She left without telling me?" he said.



After a few minutes of conversation with the current employees, Scalabrine decides he doesn't want to get any tea on this day. The woman behind the counter tries to change his mind, showing him all kinds of new concoctions she has put together with all the different leaves and herbs, but he's not budging.

"You don't want to be the rebound tea lady, do you?"

With that, we are on to our next stop. Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen.

Scalabrine orders the pork tacos, I grab a Barbeque Chicken Pizza. And we start talking about what life is like for him as "The White Mamba."

"Normally it's pretty easy, I just do my own thing," he said. "But I think being the Mamba helped today. Being in the Genius Bar, the guy [at] first blew me off, said I don't have an appointment today. A couple eye contacts, pictures, Boom! The computer's getting fixed. I have to admit, those type of things are nice. But they don't change my life. I'm still a normal guy that just happens to get special treatment at the Apple store."

Scalabrine admits that the only people who truly get to see him as Brian are his family. Being the "White Mamba" is fun, but he's not the same guy when he's with them.

"Brian doesn't really exist," he said after finishing up the tacos. "Brian's only really at home with my wife and kids."

That wife and those kids are the ones the 33-year-old misses the most. They're coming back to town in a week and he's excited to see them again.

"I think the biggest thing is just missing my kids," he said. "Besides that, I really enjoy my life. I think it's a phenomenal way for me to live. No responsibility. Practice, games, train, recover. Like tonight when I'm done I'm going to jump in the hot tub, cold tub. Hot tub, cold tub. Just because I can and it's there. I don't have any other obligations. My family's going to come in a week. My obligations are to my team and to them. Right now my obligations are only to my team."

With that, we get back into the car for our last stop: The Verizon Store.

Since heading over to Europe to play in the summer, Scalabrine has been carrying a phone that would have been cool in 1999. It's a small silver flip phone with an antenna on top that looks as outdated as it sounds. To Scalabrine, the phone is filled with memories.

"This phone represents Europe," he said wistfully. "When I see this phone, I think of Europe."

When we enter the Verizon store, yet again, everything stops for a moment as the big red head walks in.

"Can you guys help me?" he said to one of the salespeople. "It might be complex."

Scalabrine wants to transfer all his contacts from the old phone to a blackberry his agent gave him. The staff doesn't think this will be much of a problem, but first they have a request for him. The manager of the store walks him to the back and into an employees only area. He explains that he asks every Bull who steps through the doors to sign a big sign hanging in the room.

Scalabrine looks at some of the signatures from his other teammates and then happily scratches out his name with a special addendum underneath. Brian Scalabrine "The White Mamba."

As Scalabrine walks back to the front, he is greeted with handshakes and well wishes from employees and customers. While one staff member works on his phone, four more stand around with a few customers and pepper him with questions about the team. He answers each one as if he's just shooting the breeze with his buddies.

The manager tells Scalabrine to come back whenever he wants and sign some autographs for the customers. Another man tells Scalabrine that he would gladly get his grandson out of school to come meet him.

"If you can't miss school to see the White Mamba, what can you miss school for?"

Everyone laughs, including Scalabrine.

As usual, Scalabrine is trying to make everybody smile. After all, it's the same thing he tries to do every night when he actually gets into a game.

"I do become a little bit more aggressive to score, to give the fans what they want," he admits. "But on the other hand, I'm still going to try and play basketball the right way. And this thing is getting blown up to a higher level with SportsCenter playing every one of my buckets. No one wants to be the guy that the White Mamba scores on. So these guys are playing defense on me like it's Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It's something you've got to get used to."

After spending the afternoon with Scalabrine, it's clear that while he enjoys playing the role of the "White Mamba," he enjoys just being Brian sometimes, too. He knows that he is living a charmed life in the NBA and he wants to continue to take advantage of every second of it.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Ever since I took this job a little over two years ago, one of my goals was to start a weekly podcast series. I wanted to sit down with each one of the players throughout the season and get their thoughts on a variety on different topics. Something always got in the way of that plan, though.

I want to change that this season.

I'd like this series to become a regular destination for NBA fans around the league, especially for Bulls fans who want to learn about some of their favorite players on the team.

The first guest in this series is one of the most popular players on the team -- and will probably be making lots of appearances on this podcast throughout the year -- Brian Scalabrine.

The White Mamba and I hit on a number of different topics including his time in Italy over the summer, his feelings on the Bulls this season, the steps they must make in order to get past the Miami Heat this year ... and of course, his famous nickname.

Enjoy the first episode. Hopefully there will be many more to come in the future.

---

Brian Scalabrine joins Nick Friedell to talk about what he did during the lockout and the Bulls forward's outlook for the season ahead.

As we get set for the Bulls season, let's take a closer look at each player on the projected roster.

Brian Scalabrine

Role for Bulls in 2011-12: If Scalabrine sticks throughout the season, he will be the ultimate "ploach," meaning he will be used as a combination of a player and a coach. If he dresses, he will be the 12th man on the bench. More often than not though, Scalabrine will do the exact same things he did last season. He'll serve as a veteran presence in the locker room and someone his younger teammates can go to for advice in regards to coach Tom Thibodeau's system.

What happened this summer?: Scalabrine spent some time playing in Italy during the lockout, but returned to the United States in the past couple of weeks to try and latch on with the Bulls for an entire season.

Best-case scenario: At this point in his career, all Scalabrine wants is another championship ring. Sure, he'd love to play, but if he makes it through the entire season still earning an NBA paycheck, he'll be happy.

Worst-case scenario: Scalabrine gets cut at some point during the season and is replaced by another player on the roster. Thousands of 'White Mamba' all over the country would be crushed. Of course, if that happens, Scalabrine could always retire and become an assistant on the Bulls bench. Former Bull Lindsey Hunter chose that route a couple seasons ago when he realized his playing days were over.

Bottom line: If Scalabrine plays the same role he did last season, everyone in Chicago will be happy. He proved last season that you can still be an integral part of the team, even if you rarely see the floor. His teammates accept his goofiness and respect his work ethic on the floor. This could be Scalabrine's last season before he becomes a full-time coach or broadcaster in the league, so his legions of fans better enjoy it.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls re-signed veteran forward Brian Scalabrine on Monday.

Scalabrine, 33, played in 18 games for the Bulls last season. During the NBA lockout, Scalabrine played in Italy before returning to the States to try to make his way back onto the Bulls' roster.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau praised him throughout last season, noting Scalabrine was a solid presence in the locker room and helped players under the principles Thibodeau was trying to implement during his first season as coach.

Scalabrine became a fan favorite during his time with the Boston Celtics and that reputation followed him to Chicago. Bulls fans, at home and on the road, chanted for him toward the end of most games.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- The Chicago Bulls pulled guard Keith Bogans from the floor minutes before they were to start their first practice of the season on Friday, according to a league source.

Read the entire story.

Brian Scalabrine joined "Waddle & Silvy" to discuss the Bulls' loss to the Heat, the NBA Finals and his future in Chicago.

Over the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at each player on the Bulls roster and see where they fit in for the future. Let's take a look at a player that became a Chicago fan favorite as fast as any player in recent memory ...

Brian Scalabrine

2010-11 salary: $1,229,255

Season recap: Scalabrine did exactly what the Bulls and new coach Tom Thibodeau expected him to do this season. He was essentially a player-coach. He rarely got into games and at the end of the season he didn't even dress, but he managed to make an impact by helping players understand Thibodeau's system. His teammates and coaches knew he was a quirky guy, but they appreciated his work ethic and his attitude. He earned a cult-like following during his time in Chicago -- people loved cheering for "The White Mamba" whenever they got the chance.

Season highlight: After playing five seasons with the Boston Celtics, Scalabrine made his return to Boston in early November and received a big standing ovation. The Celtics played a montage of a Scalabrine highlights on their big screen as cheers washed over the reserve forward. The running joke on that night was there was more media surrounding Scalabrine than anyone else. The reality was that it wasn't much of a joke.

Season lowlight: After a March 15 game against the Washington Wizards, Scalabrine walked out of the Bulls locker room and told gathering media members to tell Bulls fans that he was sorry he couldn't hit a three-pointer that would have given fans a free Big Mac.

Final grades: Regular season -- A | Postseason -- A

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We were talking to Chicago the whole [offseason], but I was talking to [Bulls general manager] Gar [Forman] and the holdout was that I wanted a statue next to Michael Jordan [outside the United Center], 'He was like, 'A lot of good players have come through Chicago, I don't know if i can guarantee we can do that.' So I said, 'I'm going to hold out until you promise me that.' At the end of the day, I said, 'Fine, you don't have to put the statue up.' "

” -- Brian Scalabrine on his contract negotiations with the Bulls last summer

Notes: You could make the argument that Scalabrine was the second-most popular player on the Bulls this season behind Derrick Rose. Every night at the United Center fans screamed for him to come in the game. Any time the Bulls played on the road, fans in other cities did the same. He enjoyed the love that he was given, but even he had to laugh sometimes at the things he heard during the game.

What's next?: The Bulls have to decide whether they want to keep Scalabrine in the same role next season. Scalabrine has to decide if he wants to continue serving as a player/coach in the NBA, or whether he'd like to possibly go play somewhere in Europe and continue the "playing" portion of his career. The impending lockout may factor into his decision as well, given he probably only has a few more seasons left to make good money as a professional basketball player. Either way, Scalabrine will be fine. He gets along with people extremely well and will land on his feet whether he's still playing or not next season. Doc Rivers has said Scalabrine has a position waiting for him on his staff with the Celtics if he decides to retire. Scalabrine has repeatedly resisted the notion that he will coach, preferring to focus on the possibility of a broadcasting career.

CHICAGO -- Brian Scalabrine will take Omer Asik's place on the Chicago Bulls' roster for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat on Thursday.

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CHICAGO -- Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers has a good eye for head-coaching potential, and he’s identified another candidate.

Rivers campaigned for former assistant Tom Thibodeau to get a head-coaching job, and now Thibodeau is considered a Coach of the Year favorite with the Bulls.

One of Thibodeau’s players also has a bright coaching future, according to Rivers, who was visiting ESPN 1000 studios on Tuesday and took a call from Bulls reserve and former Celtics back-up Brian Scalabrine.

“Scal is going to be a hell of a coach,” Rivers said on ESPN 1000's "Afternoon Saloon". “He’s in the same spot I was in at the same point in his career, and all he says is, ‘No I’m going to do TV. I’m going to do radio.’ And I just shake my head, sure Scal.

“Scalabrine, mark my words, will be an NBA coach, and a good one.”

Rivers praised Scalabrine’s work ethic, and he also said the tradition of fans chanting Scalabrine’s name late in games didn’t originate in the United Center.

“We started that, right Scal? So they’re stealing what we did in Boston,” Rivers said. “I think Chicago should get something more original than that.”

“It’s grown to a whole new level here,” Scalabrine countered.

The Chicago Bulls might be one of the NBA's top defensive teams, but Brian Scalabrine isn't ready to call them a championship contender until he sees how they defend in the playoffs.

The Bulls lead the NBA in opponents' field-goal percentage (.424) and are third in the league in fewest average points allowed (91.9), but Scalabrine said the key to success in the playoffs is how a team defends at the rim.

"I know in my opinion we have some guys on this team that can play at a championship level. I just have to see our team as a whole," the Bulls reserve forward said Thursday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I've got to see our team ... how do we respond to Orlando and Dwight Howard, and how do you respond when you see Miami, and I want to see LeBron James and Dwyane Wade at the same time. Can we challenge all the shots at the rim and make it tough for them?

"The playoffs is about, at the end of the day, your bigs have to be able to contest shots at the rim and make guys miss at the rim. Obviously, you have to control the pick and roll, but there's going to be 20 possessions where a guy is going to turn the corner and get to the basket. We need to be able to stop guys at the rim without them fouling. If we can do that then I feel like we are a championship-caliber team. Offensively, because we have Derrick [Rose]'s ability, we'll be able to play offensively in the playoffs."

After a 106-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, the Bulls are tied with the Miami Heat for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The first season of the superstar teaming of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh started slow but the Heat are still 20 games over .500.

Even with the super trio, the Heat's lack of big post players might hurt them, Scalabrine said.

"I have to give Miami some credit because I know what their level of talent is. I know what LeBron James can do, and I know what Dwyane Wade can do. I think [a lack of size] does hurt them," Scalabrine said. "I think in the regular season you can go small, you can play small ball. I'm a big believer that in the playoffs you have to have size. You have to have a rebounding frontcourt that can challenge layups, get rebounds and set hard screens.

"I don't know if they have it. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. If you compare them to Boston or even if you compare their frontline size to us, I just don't see how they have that size. But they have LeBron James which is in and of itself a special guy."