It’s early. The NBA regular season only began this past Tuesday. And Derrick Rose is still working his way back into form. Here’s the Chicago Tribune:

Tom Thibodeau uttered the phrase twice, as if to reassure himself. Or, at least, a worried fan base.

“Some of it is bobbles,” the Chicago Bulls’ coach said. “There’s some rust. He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.”

Thibodeau was discussing Derrick Rose’s turnovers, which on Saturday featured eight against the Philadelphia 76ers. That included five in the final quarter, all in the final 7 minutes, 59 seconds.

Rose ranks second behind the Warriors’ Stephen Curry with 5.7 turnovers per game. Curry is at 6.3.

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has exercised its fourth-year option for the 2014-15 season for guard/forward Jimmy Butler, and its third-year option for the 2014-15 season for guard Marquis Teague. By exercising the respective player options, both players will be under contract with the Bulls for the 2014-15 season.

Butler (6-7, 220), appeared in all 82 games last season and posted averages of 8.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 1.4 apg in 26.0 mpg. He also shot .467 from the floor, .381 from beyond the arc and .803 from the line. During the 2013 Playoffs, Butler started in all 12 games and averaged 13.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 2.7 apg in 40.8 mpg. In Chicago’s first game of the 2013-14 season (against the Miami Heat), Butler posted 20 points, five steals, three rebounds and three assists in 29:55 of action.

Teague (6-2, 190), saw action in 48 games last season and averaged 2.1 ppg, 1.3 apg and 0.9 rpg in 8.2 mpg. He also appeared in eight playoffs games for Chicago last year.

Chicago Bulls fans are very excited to have Derrick Rose back healthy and ready to roll. And D-Rose himself thinks the team already has great energy. Here’s the Bulls.com Blog:

Rose said he and his teammates are excited and optimistic.

“No disrespect to any of my old teammates, but it seems like we’re way more focused this year,” Rose said. “I think we’re a different team than last year. Of course they learned how to win games without me. But I think we’re a totally different team where all the guys, they’re focused in. Everyone knows their role and I told you this team is totally opposite, where every guy comes in. Even the rookies, they’re acting like professionals when they come in. So for us, we have a great chance to contend for a title.”

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived center Dexter Pittman and forward D.J. White.

Both players originally signed with Chicago as free agents on Sept. 27, 2013.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 13.

Teams around the league are trimming their rosters to 15 players or less. The NBA regular season starts Tuesday.

The Bulls and NBA are better with Derrick Rose healthy, active, leaping over defenders and dunking on people’s heads. But coming back from major injury always produces questions. Well, here are some possible answers, via Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.

Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau believes after sitting out almost a year and a half, Derrick Rose is a better all-around player than he was before he injured his knee.

Thibodeau can see Rose has taken the next step in his development on and off the court.

“I think he’s gotten much stronger as a leader,” Thibodeau said before Rose scored 26 points in a preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. “And I’ve never worried about Derrick in terms of himself … but I think in setting the tone for the team, not tolerating others not doing their job. I think that’s probably his biggest growth.”

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is back. And while he does look rusty for stretches, his athletic ability appears as good as could be hoped, and even more interestingly, his outside shooting in preseason has opened eyes. Here’s K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

As far as coach Tom Thibodeau is concerned, there’s no secret why Derrick Rose is suddenly a candidate for the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend.

And if that possibility sounds ridiculous, well, so are Rose’s numbers, which Wednesday featured him scoring 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter of a 104-95 exhibition victory over the Thunder at Intrust Bank Arena.

On the night backcourt mate Jimmy Butler returned from injury, Rose struggled with his shot early. But he sank 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, including three in the final period. And he’s now 12-for-23 from 3-point range during the Bulls’ 7-0 preseason.

“You can’t imagine how much shooting this guy has done,” Thibodeau said. “Last year, he wasn’t playing in the games but he was shooting. He shot every day before practice, then in practice, then after practice. Then he’d go to the game and shoot some more.

Derrick Rose believes the Bulls have only one main rival — and it’s the Miami Heat, not the Indiana Pacers.

Rose made his feelings known before Friday night’s preseason contest against the Pacers.

While being respectful regarding Indiana’s recent success, Rose acknowledged that he believed any rivalry with the Pacers is a thing of the past.

“People say that it’s a rivalry, but I don’t really see it,” Rose said before scoring 32 points in the team’s 103-98 win against the Pacers. “I say the team that is more like a rivalry is when Darren Collison was on the team. That one was more like a rivalry, but this team is a great team. They’ve already proven themselves last year by making it to the Eastern Conference finals.”

Reported by Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago

Joakim Noah will be held out of basketball-related activities for a week because of lingering soreness in his groin, according to team officials. The All-Star center will be re-evaluated at that time.

Given that Noah won’t resume practicing until Oct. 25 at the earliest, the development puts Noah’s availability for the Bulls’ Oct. 29 regular-season opener in Miami in serious jeopardy.

Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Former Bulls guard Chris Duhon was injured during a hit-and-run incident Saturday at a downtown Orlando parking garage, according to an Orlando police report.

Duhon and his brother-in-law, Julio Hernandez, were walking through the Plaza parking garage when an unidentified man driving a black Lexus honked at them to get out of the way of his vehicle. Hernandez told police Duhon and the driver shouted at each other, then the driver pointed his Lexus toward the men. Hernandez told officers he jumped out of the way, but Duhon was hit and slammed his head against the windshield. The driver of the Lexus left the scene.

Duhon was taken to an Orlando hospital for treatment and told officers he could not recall the incident.

Reported by Iliana Limon Romero of the Orlando Sentinel

Now do you believe him? Now that you’ve seen Derrick Rose challenge 7-2 Roy Hibbert at the rim, get knocked down and bounce up to shoot his free throws in Saturday’s 82-76 Bulls win over the Indiana Pacers.

Now that you’ve seen him crossover George Hill, leaving Hill reaching and the entire Pacers’ defense coming at Rose and Rose pounded at the rim. Now that you’ve seen him go full court and dunk, though two handed? Nothing fancy yet, Rose said. And now that you’ve seen him run the wing with Kirk Hinrich and finish, double pump on a drive and put in the layup and a finger roll, score 13 points in just over 20 minutes and complain to Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau he didn’t want to leave the game.

Now will you believe Derrick Rose when he says he’s back? And maybe even, as incredulous as it may seem, as good or better than he was some 18 months ago before he suffered the ugliest of basketball injuries, a torn anterior cruciate ligament?

“He got mad at me,” Thibodeau said about removing Rose from the game for good with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter and the Bulls ahead 50-49. “That’s when I knew we were good. Now I know things are normal.

“Like we’ve been seeing in practice,” said Thibodeau. “Hit the floor, aggressive. That’s the way he played before the injury and he’s back playing like that. For him, that’s his game, the speed, the quickness, but the power to go along with it. That’s what makes him so special and unique. There’s no one like him.”

Reported by Sam Smith of the Bulls.com Blog

In the pantheon of greatly anticipated exhibition games, oxymoron that it is, Saturday’s in the Indianapolis basketball temple ranks among the most significant, a great welcome back for one of the NBA’s basketball gods.

Or at least most everyone still hopes.

“I’m just playing the same way I normally do,” Derrick Rose promised after Bulls practice Friday, displaying the sort of self assurance we were accustomed to watching in him when he’d attempt a game winning shot. “There’s no point holding back. I think we go as I go, and me being aggressive gets people open. And that’s how I’m going to play.”

But this bit of sangfroid at this time perhaps defines Rose best as the basketball world wonders just what they’ll see in Rose after the longest injury absence ever for a former league Most Valuable Player.

Rose has not played against NBA competition in a game, even an exhibition, since his catastrophic knee injury in the opening playoff game to conclude the 2011-12 season. He missed all of last season amidst doubt among some in the community of his motives and readiness. But he remained stoic and committed. And now he says he’s ready.

Reported by Sam Smith of the Bulls.com Blog

For a second consecutive day, both Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah were held out of action during an afternoon where playing time was cut short because of a slippery court.

Coach Tom Thibodeau said Wednesday that Hinrich and Noah were dealing with “general soreness” that cropped up from the first few workouts of camp, and he did not expand on that Thursday. He did sound optimistic, though.

“Yeah, they’re both better,” Thibodeau said. “We just want to make sure they’re completely healed.”

Thobodeau did not say if either would be available for the preseason opener Saturday at Indiana, and didn’t sound worried about it whether they could play.

Reported by Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago

After a season of breathlessness over the status of Derrick Rose’s left knee, it might be time to shift the focus to Gar Forman’s heart rate or Tom Thibodeau’s salivary glands.

The Bulls’ general manager and coach could be forgiven for being overly enthusiastic on Saturday following not only Derrick Rose’s aggressive first practice of training camp but Rose’s boldness afterward.

“I got confidence in my (surgically repaired left) knee,” Rose said. “There’s no testing anymore. It’s going out there and playing hard and attacking.”

By all accounts, that’s what the former league most valuable player did in the first session Saturday morning. Thibodeau is devoting the evening sessions on both Saturday and Sunday to film work, shooting and walk-through points of emphasis. Rose said he plans to not miss a practice.

Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Bulls announced today the signing of free agents Patrick Christopher, Mike James, Dahntay Jones, Kalin Lucas, Dexter Pittman and D.J. White to round out their 2013-14 training camp roster.

Christopher (6-5, 220) spent last season with Besiktas of the Turkish Basketball League. In 26 games, he averaged 11.0 ppg and 2.8 rpg. During the 2011-12 season, he posted 12.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg in 26 games with Cholet Basket of the French Basketball League.

James (6-2, 188), an 11-year NBA veteran, appeared in 45 games (23 starts) for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2012-13 season. With the Mavericks, he posted averages of 6.1 ppg, 3.1 apg and 1.6 rpg in 19.2 mpg. In 584 career games, he has averaged 10.0 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.3 rpg, 0.80 spg and 24.5 mpg.

Jones (6-6, 225), a 10-year veteran of the NBA, has previously played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks. In 589 career games, he has averaged 5.6 ppg and 1.8 rpg in 16.3 mpg. Jones split last year with Dallas and Atlanta. In 78 games, he recorded 3.4 ppg and 1.3 rpg in 13.0 mpg.

Lucas (6-1, 195) spent last season with Banvit of the Turkish Basketball League. In 39 games, he averaged 9.0 ppg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 spg. During the 2011-12 campaign, he appeared in 11 games with Olympiacos of the Greek Basketball League and averaged 8.0 ppg and 2.5 apg.

Pittman (6-11, 285) split last year with the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies. In four games with the Heat last season, he averaged 1.5 ppg and 1.8 rpg in 3.0 mpg. While with the Grizzlies, he averaged 0.7 rpg and 2.9 mpg in seven games.

White (6-9, 250) split the 2012-13 season with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Boston Celtics. He appeared in 29 games for the Sharks and averaged 21.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 1.30 bpg in 33.0 mpg. While with the Celtics, he averaged 2.4 ppg and 1.1 rpg in 7.2 mpg in 12 games.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 18.

Derrick Rose Hopefully still has that crazy quickness

Rose believes he’s ready to dominate again and help his team contend for a championship.

With training camp set to open this week, the former MVP point guard said there are no lingering issues with his surgically repaired left knee.

”Who knows when I’m going to get my rhythm?” he said. ”It might take one game. It might take five games, 10 games. Who knows? I think me having that relationship with my teammates and them knowing that and not just depending on me right away, just knowing that I’m just trying to fit in with them, do my job where my job is to come in, run the game and get them open shots and play aggressive. I think the guys on the team know that. And me knowing that, too, I think it’s going to be a smooth year, a smooth process.”

Asked if he has any doubts he’ll regain his MVP form, Rose said, ”No.”

Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has promoted Randy Brown to Assistant General Manager, Ivica Dukan to Director of International Scouting/Special Assistant to the General Manager, Nick Papendieck to Head Strength Coach, and also hired Matt Johnson as Assistant Strength Coach.

Brown is entering his fifth season with the Bulls and has spent the last three seasons serving as the Special Assistant to the General Manager. He served as the team’s Director of Player Development during the 2009-10 campaign. Originally drafted by the Kings in the second round (31st overall) of the 1991 NBA Draft, Brown played 12 seasons and was a member of three NBA Championship teams with the Bulls (1996, 1997, 1998), including the 1996 team that won an NBA-record 72 games during the regular season.

Dukan will begin his 23rd season with the Bulls after being hired as the Director of International Scouting on Aug. 20, 1992. Prior to being hired full-time, Dukan worked as a part-time scout for the Bulls during the 1991-92 season. Dukan had a successful 14-year career overseas, as he played in England, Switzerland, France and Yugoslavia. A native of Croatia, he served as captain of the team in Split, Croatia and played for the Yugoslavia National Team.

Papendieck is entering his third season with the Bulls, as he spent the last two seasons as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. Prior to joining the Bulls, he was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Virginia. A native of Edgerton, Wis., Papendieck earned a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2009 and an M. Ed. degree in Kinesiology in 2011 from the University of Virginia.

Johnson begins his second season with the Bulls, and first in a full-time capacity, after spending the 2012-13 season as a Strength and Conditioning Intern. Prior to joining the Bulls, Johnson served as an intern with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Strength and Conditioning department. Johnson received his B.S. degree in Exercise and Sport Science with an emphasis in Strength and Conditioning, as well as his M.S. degree in Human Performance, from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2012.

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose repeated what he said in July by declaring he is fully healthy for the upcoming season.

Rose missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL.

“I think I am 100 percent,” Rose told CSNChicago.com Friday. “I’m doing almost everything. I’m squatting, running, lifting almost every other day. Just being back on the court after you have an ACL injury, you’re kind of hesitant at first about how you step, what way you should step, learning how to run, accelerate, accelerate while you run and while you’re slowing down.”

“For me, I’m reacting right now where all I have to think about is if I have to get to a spot, I’m going to get there no matter what. It kind of feels good having that feeling again.”

Reported by the Sports Xchange

Negotiations between the Bulls and Luol Deng’s camp surrounding a long-term contract extension have stalled, CSNChicago.com has learned.

Yahoo! Sports reported that initial discussions had been taken place between the two parties in separate late-June and early-July meetings regarding keeping the All-Star small forward in Chicago beyond this season, the final year of his current deal. But when the talks were revisited, the Bulls opted to put those plans on hold for the time being and risk the team’s longest-tenured player becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

“We were optimistic,” the source said of the mentality Deng’s camp had heading into the late August meeting, approximately two weeks ago. “Our goal was to get an extension done this summer. If that’s not what they want to do, so be it.

“We’re not upset, Luol isn’t upset. We’re just looking forward to this season and next summer,” continued the individual, who acknowledged that Bulls management expressed how much they value the two-time All-Star, even stating their desire to see him retire in a Bulls uniform.

Reported by Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago

Prosecutors have slapped down allegations that retired hoopster Scottie Pippen assaulted an autograph seeker outside a Malibu restaurant last June.

The Los Angeles District Attorney said Tuesday it will not press charges against the former Chicago Bull because the man who claims he was roughed up was legally drunk at the time, may have been the aggressor and did not have injuries consistent with the beatdown he claimed he suffered.

An investigator also found that while alleged victim Camran Shafighi complained of severe pain to his ankle and demanded a splint after the incident, staff at UCLA Medical Center later saw him walk without a limp.

The emergency room staff also said Shafighi faked seizures that would mysteriously disappear when a doctor ordered him to “stop it,” a DA filing obtained by the Daily News states.

Reported by Nancy Dillon of the New York Daily News

The Chicago Bulls announced today that Jennifer Swanson has been named the team’s Director of Sports Performance.

Swanson will be responsible for overseeing the athletic training and strength and conditioning departments, as well as massage therapy, chiropractic care, nutritional support and any auxiliary services.

A native of Gilroy, Calif., Swanson spent the past five years as a Performance Physical Therapy Manager at Athletes’ Performance in Los Angeles, Calif. She was responsible for working with professional athletes from the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB, as well as a variety of international, collegiate and high school athletes. Prior to her tenure at Athletes’ Performance, Swanson completed a Sports Physical Therapy Residency at the University of Pittsburgh/Centers for Rehab Services, where she also spent time working as an intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Swanson earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University (2004) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Psychology from the University of California, Davis (2001). She is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports and Orthopedics, as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Swanson is also an accomplished track athlete, as she is a six-time NCAA Division II All-American and was the National Indoor Pole Vault Champion in 2000.