Chicago Bulls

Bulls general manager John Paxson denied Monday that he has had talks with the New York Knicks regarding a possible trade of Ben Gordon.

''It is a total fabrication,'' Paxson said of an item published in the New York Post on Monday that said the Knicks made a ''serious inquiry'' about Gordon. ''I have not spoken to that organization since last October, so the Post has printed something that is false.

''If the Knicks do plan on making an inquiry, they can save themselves a phone call because I'm not interested.''

No Knicks officials have denied the Post's story that the team will seek to buy out the remainder of coach Larry Brown's contract after the Knicks finished 23-59. The speculation is that Brown, who is owed $40 million, will be replaced by team president Isiah Thomas, who was at odds with Brown throughout the season.

''We're not going to comment until when and if there's something to comment on,'' a Knicks spokesman told the Post.

The Bulls are interested observers in the Knicks' situation. The Bulls own the Knicks' first-round pick in the June draft -- guaranteed to be among the top five -- as part of the Eddy Curry trade on Oct. 4, 2005. That deal also allows the Bulls an option to swap first-round picks with the Knicks in 2007.

In other Bulls news, it appears guard Chris Duhon will undergo surgery soon to correct a herniated disc in his lower back.

Duhon, who visited doctors at Duke University last week, will get a final opinion from a Los Angeles-based specialist by Wednesday. Should that opinion concur with what Duhon has already been told, he will then consult with Bulls medical staff to decide which physician will perform what his representative said Monday would be a ''minor procedure.''

Duhon's back bothered him throughout the second half of the season. He missed four games (March 14-15 and April 11-12) because of the problem, and it routinely kept him out of practices during the team's playoff series with the Miami Heat.