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Five Takeaways From Bulls Media Day

By Michael Whitlow

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The 2015-16 Chicago Bulls Media Day was an hour of some interesting discussions heading into the start of training camp on Tuesday. Here’s five takeaways from today’s sights and sounds of Bulls Media Day.

If you missed the Chicago Bulls version of their media day coverage, I wouldn’t say that you didn’t miss much. Not only was Monday the first day Derrick Rose appeared on camera since the reports broke on his civil suit situation, new Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg appeared in front of the Chicago media for the first time since being hired back in June.

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The Bulls sent Hoiberg and Bulls general manager Gar Forman to the microphone at separate times, while the trios of Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol and Mike Dunleavy, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah spent some time at the microphone.

With that being said, here’s five takeaways from Bulls Media Day:

1. The Derrick Rose situation isn’t going away until a resolution

Like many expected, the Derrick Rose situation was the hot topic of the day. Not only was Rose asked about the situation, Rose’s teammates (Gibson and Noah specifically) and Forman were all asked about the situation regarding Rose and his legal situation.

When asked about the case, Rose replied:

2. Be prepared for “Derrick Rose free agency” thoughts

During his time in front of the media, Derrick Rose spoke about spending time with family over the summer, including working out in Los Angeles.

What came from his mouth afterwards got people stirring a bit. After Rose mentioned that he was “preparing” for the future (with Rose slated to be a free agent in 2017) and noticing the rise in free agency money being handed out this summer, he left many wondering what he meant by that.

Quick thought: By no means did Rose say he had any thoughts of leaving Chicago in a couple years. But, you’re going to read a lot of different thoughts on this situation. I wanted to warn you about what lies ahead. Just be prepared.

3. No real timetable for Mike Dunleavy’s return?

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Mike Dunleavy had back surgery this past Friday and the timetable presented afterwards was 8-10 weeks.

Dunleavy’s not sure that will be the case, as he expressed that he doesn’t have a timetable on his return to action. Further more, Fred Hoiberg expressed how the Bulls need Dunleavy on the floor and healthy.

That’s a fact. The Bulls were much better when Mike Dunleavy was on the floor. In a 19-game stretch where Dunleavy didn’t play last season (ankle), the Bulls went 9-10. His veteran presence is needed, but only if and when he’s 100 percent.

4. Some thoughts from Fred Hoiberg

Fred Hoiberg spoke on a number of topics during Media Day, so to keep it simple, here’s a list:

  • Hoiberg mentioned how he traveled to see Butler, Noah and Rose in California, while seeing Gasol and Nikola Mirotic during their training for EuroBasket this summer.
  • Hoiberg’s a big fan of Bobby Portis already. “Bobby was terrific,” Hoiberg said in terms of Portis’ play during his time in Las Vegas.
  • It was interesting to hear Hoiberg say that the Bulls will play through Pau Gasol “a lot” this season. Could that be the answer for the starting center question?
  • As for putting a starting lineup and rotation together, Hoiberg expressed that the Bulls “have 28 days to figure it out.”

5. So, whose hair is it?

Uh, I’m not really sure how to describe the hairstyles of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose. According to Rose, his new cut was inspired by his son, P.J.

As for Butler, well … I’m not sure.

Could we get a one-on-one charity game between the two to settle whose hair it is? I’m sure Joakim Noah might be able to set that up.

Overall thoughts:

Obviously, Rose was going to be the story of the day. His comments towards free agency in 2017 just further proved that he was the “man of the hour” in Chicago. It’s September 2015, so I highly doubt Rose is looking that closely into the future, but being aware of it isn’t a bad thing. (Did you see the money thrown around this summer? Hell, look at what Tristan Thompson wants for a new deal.)

Rose brought his free agency to the light seemingly out of the blue. Could he have gone through that period of the day differently? Absolutely. With the civil case looming over his head, it’s important for Rose to maintain his confidence and a clear mindset, but he has to be careful with what he says in front of the camera (again).

The second-biggest story of the day not named Rose was probably Mike Dunleavy and the “no timetable” on his back surgery thing. That’s concerning. Sure, Dunleavy could be ready to go in two months. But, from the sounds of today, he (nor Hoiberg when he brought up Dunleavy’s back) didn’t confident that he will be back right away.

Next: Why is Tom Thibodeau at Charlotte Hornets practices?

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