It was reported Thursday that the Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling from last year in St. Louis County in which a judge agreed that Pippen owed U.S. Bank about $5.021 million in principal, interest and attorney fees from a dispute over a private jet and company Pippen once owned.

''That's all part of some litigation that has been on the table for some time,'' Pippen told the Sun-Times on Thursday from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ''I really don't have any more comment on it. My lawyer and I are still working to resolve it.''

Pippen said the charter-plane issue is one of many poor business decisions that were made primarily by a former agent, whom he blames for causing him to lose about $27 million in bad investments and questionable accounting. Pippen sued his former law firm in 2005, claiming he had been swindled, but he lost the case.

In terms of the plane, court documents claimed Pippen was using charter planes so often in 2001, when he was playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, that a pilot persuaded him to consider buying his own jet. Consequently, Pippen and his wife, Larsa, borrowed $4.375 million from an aircraft finance company, JODA LLC, in the St. Louis area.

U.S. Bank bought that note and filed suit against the Pippens in 2004, even though it was never clear if Pippen even got to use the Grumman Gulfstream II, a twin-engine corporate jet.

Meanwhile, Pippen said he is continuing his comeback bid. It got off to a controversial start during All-Star Saturday last weekend in Las Vegas after he hit a midcourt basket to lead a trio representing the Bulls to an apparent victory in the Shooting Stars contest.

But while Pippen made a victory lap, video replay showed that teammate Ben Gordon illegally shot ahead of their third teammate, the Sky's Candice Dupree, and Pippen's team was disqualified.

''That has been the only real negative since I announced I'm coming back,'' Pippen said. ''I won't give any names, but a half-dozen teams have already expressed interest, and I expect to hear from more teams as they get closer to the end of the season and start getting their playoff rosters together.

''I've changed my mind about signing any 10-day contracts. I wouldn't mind giving private workouts and practicing with teams to show them what I can do. Then they can decide for themselves whether I can help them and if they want to offer me a contract for the rest of the season.

''I'm ready to play right now, and I'll keep on working out until I accept an invitation to work out with a team, preferably a contender.''