LOS ANGELES -- Earlier in the day, the Bulls listed John Salmons' status as a game-time decision, but the veteran guard was ruled out of Wednesday night's game with the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center long before tip-off.
Salmons, who is suffering from the stomach virus going around the team, was so sick he didn't even travel with the team from the hotel to the arena before the game.
Salmons was scheduled to meet the team at the airport after the game for the trip to Phoenix, the next stop on the road trip.
''We'll see how he does [today],'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said of Salmons. ''We'll get him some rest.''
Complicating matters is that another player in the Bulls' usual three-guard rotation -- Kirk Hinrich -- was returning to action Wednesday after missing Monday's game at Golden State with the flu.
''He's feeling better,'' Del Negro said of Hinrich. ''But he's lost a few pounds, so his energy won't be great. I'll just monitor that.''
Del Negro planned to use Jannero Pargo as the third guard in the rotation.
The NBA released the list of its best-selling jerseys Wednesday, and Bulls point guard Derrick Rose's No. 1 jersey was fourth, following (in order) Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard and one spot ahead of Dwyane Wade.
How surprising was the news? Even Rose was stunned when he was informed at the end of the morning shootaround.
''That's an honor just to be in that company,'' he said. ''I can't wait to get on the phone and tell my mom. I know she'll be happy for me.''
As a team, the Bulls have the fifth-most popular jersey behind the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.
Not long ago, Clippers rookie Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft last June, was targeting Wednesday for his regular-season debut. Instead, Griffin had season-ending surgery Wednesday to repair the non-displaced stress fracture of his left patella he suffered in the Clippers' final preseason game.
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