NBA: NEW CONTRACT, TALLER ORDERS FOR THIS BULL: CHANDLER'S HEIGHTENED EXPECTATIONS.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE NBA 

Chicago center Tyson Chandler was visiting with a group of old friends at Staples Center last weekend when a little kid started tugging at his arm.

``Did you get taller?'' the kid asked. ``You look taller to me.''

Chandler just smiled and shook his head.

``Not that I know of,'' he said.

Not in height, anyway.

Stature is a different story. Real or imagined, Chandler grew in that regard this summer when the Bulls invested $68 million in their young 7-footer.

The former Dominguez High of Compton star wiped away any financial concerns the moment he signed the contract, but he has discovered a different type of burden comes to players who teams put so much faith in.

It's the burden of expectation, a pressure Chandler is learning is most intense when it comes from within.

``I've got something to live up to now,'' Chandler said. ``The organization's made a big promise to me.''

Chandler's up-and-down play so far suggests he hasn't struck a balance between playing within himself and trying to do more to justify his contract.

It also doesn't help that frontcourt mate Eddy Curry, who took pressure off Chandler on and off the floor, was traded to New York during the offseason.

Between dealing with the contract pressures and Curry's absence, Chandler has found himself battling mental fatigue.

``I just have to clear my head,'' he said.

A frustrated Bulls coach Scott Skiles has obliged, giving Chandler plenty of time to dwell on things from the bench. In fact, before a breakout game against the Lakers last Sunday when he grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked several important shots, Chandler was doing more sitting than playing.

``We've tried to make it simple on him. We need him to run the floor, protect his spot and defend the basket for us.'' Skiles said. ``We don't feel like we're asking too much and I'm hopeful he's not expecting too much from himself and putting some sort of undue pressure on himself.''

Skiles might want to check with Chandler on the undue pressure issue.

`I'm the type of person that wants to live up to my contract, and more,'' Chandler said.

So much so that when things don't work out, his frustration drags his play down to levels that leave Skiles no choice but to yank him.

That happened often on the Bulls' recent swing out West, with Chandler parked on the bench in crunch time for three straight games before his effort against the Lakers.

Chandler didn't do a very good job hiding his feelings as he sat on the bench, either.

``I'm a real emotional person. Not just when things are going right or wrong with the team, but when I'm not playing as well as I know I can or I'm not getting the minutes,'' Chandler said. ``And sometimes that frustration comes out in the wrong way.''

Chandler isn't blaming Skiles - ``It's really just a matter of clearing my head and playing like I know I can,'' he said - but he also knows he can't work out his problems sitting on the bench.

``I can't help the team that way,'' he said.

He hopes the performance against the Lakers points him in the right direction.

``Sometimes it just takes that one game and then the confidence starts building,'' Chandler said. ``My (confidence) was going one way, now I just have to take it the other way.''

--Tick ... tick ... tick: That's not a time bomb ready to go off in Portland ticking away; it's the seconds counting Ruben Patterson's Trail Blazers career.

The noted headcase was sent home from a road trip Monday after cursing at Blazers coach Nate McMillan, then disciplined two days later by the team with a two-game suspension.

Staying true to his space-cadet rep, Patterson admitted he used curse words in a confrontation with McMillan during Sunday's game against the Knicks, but denied he actually cussed him out.

``I didn't cuss Nate out like everybody thinks,'' Patterson told the Oregonian. ``I did go at it with Nate, and I used some swear words, but I didn't cuss him out.''

Patterson said Portland assistant Monty Williams was the one he cussed out.

``But me and Monty cleared it up afterward; we're cool,'' Patterson said.

The inevitable trade demand came next, followed by assurances from his agent that a number of teams already are expressing interest in his client.

``Two weeks ago New York offered Malik Rose; yeah, that's right, they offered a trade,'' said Patterson's agent, Dan Fegan. ``But (Portland general manager) John Nash only wants short-term contracts. He could trade Ruben tomorrow.''

Nash didn't seem convinced a trade would happen.

``We are hoping his agent can come up with something,'' Nash said.

Patterson's situation will be re-evaluated when the team returns home Wednesday.

--Not gonna happen: Kevin Garnett caused quite a stir in the Twin Cities when he dropped responsibility for last year's Timberwolves disaster at the doorstep of team president Kevin McHale.

It wouldn't have been that big a deal except Garnett made the comments during an interview on TNT, prompting analyst Charles Barkley to say the Wolves need to trade Garnett immediately.

The next day, Wolves owner Glen Taylor basically told Barkley to mind his own business, then assured everyone he has no intentions of dealing the biggest star in Minnesota.

Garnett backed him up by saying he was a T-Wolf for life, and that he and McHale were OK.

``Kevin McHale is great for me, man. It's just some of the summer things I had dislikes with,'' he told the Twin Cities media. ``But me and Kevin McHale, we have a great, open relationship. We communicate. If I don't like something, he knows it. If he don't like something, he definitely lets me know it.''

--Northern Exposure: Former Purdue coach Gene Keady, happily passing time in retirement hitting golf balls every day, was lured back to the sideline by Toronto, of all teams.

Keady spent the last weekend consulting the Raptors after team president Wayne Embry called him and asked for help. The Raptors turned around and beat Miami on Sunday for their first win of the year, and now Keady's mulling a full-time position with the club.

``I like what I saw when I was up there,'' he said. ``I like the players, the organization and the coaches. What's not to like?''

Keady will make his decision about the job when he returns from a Caribbean cruise Dec. 6.

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Chicago Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich ranks among NBA leaders in assists per game (6.2) and 3-point shooting (48.3 percent).

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- Ross Siler

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