Blogs.Bulls.com

By Adam Fluck

The speculation on whether Pistons guard Ben Gordon will take the floor in his return to Chicago to face the Bulls will last a little longer. Following the team’s Wednesday morning shootaround, Gordon said he still wasn’t sure he’d be able to play due to a sprained left ankle.

"I don't know," said Gordon. "I was able to do a little bit more in shootaround today than I was able to do yesterday. I'm just going to come back tonight, see how it feels, and see if I can make some game-time cuts and things like that and go from there."

Gordon was asked about returning to the city and arena where, prior to this season, he had spent all of his five years as a pro.

"It's different," he said. "It's a new experience for me. I'm sure it'll be exciting here tonight. But right now, I'm just focused on getting healthy and seeing if I can play tonight."

Check back later for more on this story as it develops, and listen below to the full audio of Gordon meeting the media at the UC Wednesday morning.

Gordon said he holds no ill will towards the Bulls following last summer’s contract negations. Following five seasons with the club in which he averaged 18.5 points in 398 games, including 204 starts, he tested the free agency waters and landed in Detroit, where he signed a five-year deal reportedly worth $59 million.

“Not at all,” Gordon said about any lingering resentment. “I got over it a long time ago. I’m just moving forward with my basketball career. I had a lot of great years [in Chicago], but I don’t have any bad feelings or anything like that.”

Gordon also commented on whether or not he felt the Bulls had replaced the role he had filled, primarily as a scorer and clutch performer late in games.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “At the end [of games], especially with the addition of [Derrick Rose] a year ago, there were two guys who could make big shots. Now, it looks like it’s only him. John [Salmons] can make big shots and Luol [Deng] can make bit shots, but last season, I think the team relied on me and D-Rose a lot to make plays down the stretch.”

Find out this evening (7:00 p.m. CT | CSN | 1000 AM & 1200 AM) whether or not Gordon could potentially find himself in that position once again.

Audio—Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon on his status, his return to the United Center, and performing down the stretch following the team’s morning shootaround (12.02.09):