Category: Chicago Bulls Blog

Joakim Noah was back to practice with the Bulls for Tuesday morning’s shoot-around, and according to head coach Tom Thibodeau, will now start tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies in their first preseason game at the United Center.

Noah had missed three days of practices for what the team called personal reasons, but on Monday, the Bulls big man used his Twitter account to explain that his grandmother had passed away and that’s why he put basketball on the backburner.

— Reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times

Joakim Noah has a reputation as a free spirit, but he remained a missing one Sunday.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said his starting center missed a second consecutive day of training camp for ‘‘personal reasons.’’

‘‘Just a personal matter,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘He’ll be out a couple days. Hopefully he’ll be back [Monday].’’

Noah spent a few weeks in the offseason working with NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, especially on offense, so it would be nice for the Bulls to have him back for the preseason opener Tuesday.

— Reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times

How many different ways can Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau be asked about life without Derrick Rose?

If one week of training camp is any indication, Thibodeau is sure going to find out.

‘‘Obviously, Derrick is a great player, but this is not a new thing for us — he missed half the season [last year],’’ Thibodeau said Sunday. ‘‘We found a way to do it last year, and I expect us to find a way to do it this year. This is about the players we have available. They’re more than capable.

‘‘Rip [Hamilton] has been a big shot-maker his whole career, Carlos [Boozer] has been a big shot-maker his whole career, Luol [Deng] has hit some big shots for us, so we have several guys that are capable.’’ …

Life without Rose until maybe February because of his surgically repaired torn left anterior cruciate ligament is atop that list, but it’s not the only concern. Rose isn’t the only key starter who’s been on the shelf for extended amounts of time.

— Reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times

The Bulls will rely on Robinson, who signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal this offseason. With Derrick Rose out of commission until at least the All-Star break, the Bulls re-tooled the point guard position, signing Robinson and Kirk Hinrich and letting C.J. Watson (Brooklyn) and John Lucas III (Toronto) leave via free agency.

Thibodeau said he will rely on the seven-year veteran to lead the team’s second unit and act as a scorer off the bench. Last year Robinson averaged 11.2 points in just 23.4 minutes per game.

“He’s an explosive scorer to come off the bench, knock four, five shots down in a row,” Thibodeau said. “He has to do a good job of leading us. His job as the point guard is to ignite and inspire, and he has to do that in a very positive way. So I think along with his experience, he’s gotten a lot more comfortable running a team.”

— Reported by Mark Strotman of CSN Chicago

Other than wishing him good health, most Chicago Bulls players were stumped when asked what they would get Derrick Rose for his 24th birthday, which the star guard celebrated on Thursday.

“I made the rookies sing,” Kirk Hinrich joked after practice. “I hope that’s enough.”

After the basketballs were picked up at the end of practice “Happy Birthday” could be heard throughout the Berto Center. But just a few minutes later Rose was back rehabbing, unavailable to discuss his big day.

“We should make him go (rehab) twice,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of a birthday gift.

— Reported by Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived guard Vance Cooksey.

Cooksey, a rookie from the University of Pikeville, played with the Rio Grande Vipers and Texas Legends of the NBA Development League during the 2011-12 season. He signed with Chicago as a free agent on Oct. 1, 2012.

Chicago’s training camp roster now stands at 17.

After losing restricted free agent Omer Asik to the Houston Rockets over the offseason, the Chicago Bulls don’t want to take the same risk with Taj Gibson, whose contract expires after this season.

The Bulls have always been confident they could retain Gibson, whose agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPNChicago.com in June that the two sides had already started discussing a new deal.

“I can only worry about basketball,” Gibson said after practice Tuesday afternoon. “I can only worry about what I can take care of on the court. I’m listening to my agent Mark Bartelstein and I’ll let (Bulls GM) Gar Forman and (Bartelstein) worry about that. Right now I’m just worried about getting better with my teammates, and so far it’s been great.”

Given what happened with Asik, Gibson really finds himself in the driver’s seat.

— Reported by Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has agreed to terms on a contract extension with Head Coach Tom Thibodeau through the 2016-17 season.

“Tom has proven to be one of the top coaches in the NBA and we are happy that he has agreed to a long-term extension that will ensure he is our coach for many years to come,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman.

In two seasons at the helm of the Bulls, Thibodeau has led the Bulls to a regular-season record of 112-36 (.757; the highest winning percentage by a head coach in NBA history).  In his first year on the sidelines in Chicago, he coached the Bulls to a record of 62-20, followed by a mark of 50-16 in 2011-12.  In recognition of his coaching efforts, Thibodeau claimed the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 and he was runner-up for the distinction in 2012.  He also is the only coach in league history to win the most games in the NBA in each of his first two seasons.

In 2011-12, Thibodeau reached the 100-win plateau in just his 130th contest as a head coach, breaking the NBA record for reaching the 100-win plateau the fastest.  During his time in Chicago, he has claimed Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors five times and coached the Bulls to a playoff record of 11-11 (.500), including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011.