With a rookie point guard and a first-time coach, the Bulls have justification for calling this a rebuilding season.
Coach Vinny Del Negro did not go that far recently, but he seemed to ask for patience.
“I don’t think you need to judge us from the first game or the first week or the first month or whatever,”
Del Negro said. “I think as the year goes on, you’ll see steady improvement. That’s what I expect.”
Coaches and veteran players see a talented team that might need time to mesh this season, which tips off tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center.
It is uncertain how much a potentially slow start would set back the Bulls in their quest to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. The Eastern Conference appears to have improved.
The Bulls think they too are better, especially after making point guard Derrick Rose the No. 1 pick in the draft. Rose will be an immediate starter.
At a minimum, the Bulls expect to field a team that plays harder and more cohesively than last season’s group did during a disheartening 33-49 season.
See BULLS, page 7B
“Last year is our reality, and we have to play harder and get better,”
general manager John Paxson said.
“The playoffs are too far off, and I won’t ask our staff or players to worry about that.
“We need to get back to the basics of playing hard on both ends and establishing some confidence before we can even think that way.”
Del Negro never had sat on a bench as a coach, not even as an assistant, before this year’s preseason. Players describe him as calmer and more communicative than Scott Skiles, the hard-nosed coach who was fired last Christmas Eve.
Del Negro has emphasized playing solid defense and pushing the tempo on offense, but his skills as a game tactician are unknown. The playing rotation is in flux, especially in a crowded backcourt, and Del Negro said it could remain that way.
The Bulls’ offensive sets remain a work in progress, too, partly because of previous injuries to players such as Ben Gordon (toe), Joakim Noah (eye) and Larry Hughes (shoulder).
“The injuries have made it more difficult on the coaches because they are a new staff,”
Paxson said. “I feel the new members of our staff have worked very hard to prepare our players, but there’s a lot of work left to be done.”
“I feel this season will be measured in large part by how we improve from month to month as our staff gets comfortable and our players get healthy.”
Kirk Hinrich, the Bulls’ longest-tenured player in his sixth season, wants to see some basic things improve.
“The chemistry has to be a lot better than it was last year,”
Hinrich said. “We used to hang our hat on defense, but we seemed to lose our identity there last season, and our defense wasn’t very good. A lot of that is just effort and trusting each other.”
No matter what happens, the Bulls can tell themselves they are headed in the right direction simply because of Rose’s presence.
One of Paxson’s goals this season is to evaluate which of Rose’s teammates fit best with him.
“I don’t expect that to happen overnight,”
Paxson said, “but I do believe that when we look back on this thing in the future, getting Derrick will have been our defining moment.”
