Sacramento Kings All-Star Peja Stojakovic told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday he would love to play for the Bulls, and John Paxson has admitted calling the Kings to inquire about Stojakovic's availability. The main impediment to that courtship heating up is Sacramento ownership has said it has no plans to trade Stojakovic, despite his request to be dealt. And if the Maloof brothers change their minds, the Bulls don't have a lot to offer for the 6-9 forward, who was second in the league in scoring during the regular season at 24.2 points. The latter hurdle becomes even greater for the Bulls because Indiana is said to be offering former Bull Ron Artest, who is the reigning defensive player of the year. ''I love Chicago, and I have a lot of friends there,'' Stojakovic said by phone from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where he is shooting a Reebok commercial that also will feature Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson. ''I also feel the Bulls are a great organization, and I especially like the fact that Scott Skiles is the coach there. He was my coach in Greece when I played for PAOK in 1998. We almost won the championship under him. He's a great man and a great coach.'' Paxson proved he's not afraid to aim high when he and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf visited Kobe Bryant before he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. ''Yes, I called and expressed an interest, but I have not talked with [Kings operations chief] Geoff Petrie yet about it,'' Paxson said. ''So it was a one-sided phone call. Certainly, if a player of his caliber were available and he would be interested in Chicago, we'd obviously owe it to ourselves to take a hard look at it.'' The most sought-after commodities on the Bulls are center Eddy Curry and guard Kirk Hinrich. After losing Vlade Divac to the Lakers, which prompted Stojakovic's displeasure with Sacramento, the Kings need a center. But Artest is a special talent. ''Peja tells me he would love to play in a big city like Chicago with a strong population of Yugoslavians and Greeks,'' said Nick Papaioannou, who writes for Eleftheros Typos, an Athens, Greece, newspaper. ''He is Serbian, and he speaks both languages.'' Artest's salary of $6.5 million this season is compatible with Stojakovic's $6.8 million. Stojakovic has an option to get out of his contract in 2007. ''I've asked for a trade because I think a change of teams would be good for the Kings and me right now,'' Stojakovic said. ''It's nothing against the team, the organization or the city. They all have been good to me. I just think I've done as much as I can do for the Kings, the window of opportunity is closing down, this team needs changes and I would be perhaps the easiest player to trade.'' Other options Paxson is considering to add size and scoring skills to his backcourt are Bobby Sura, Eric Piatkowski and Calbert Cheaney. Meantime, although former New York Knicks teammates Othella Harrington and Frank Williams say they want to play for the Bulls, Paxson must wait until centers Dekembe Mutombo and Cezary Trabanski return from abroad to know if they want to stay and play. --

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