"I Know I'm Going to Win a Championship Soon"

The above quote by Derrick Rose during Monday's Media Day is trying to rival his 2010 question of why he couldn't be MVP.  Obviously, those are much greater expectations.  Whether the Bulls can fulfill those however is a taller order. 

Any NBA star has a chance to win MVP, but it requires a team effort and lots of talent to win a title.  Only a few teams are capable of doing that in any given season.  The NBA is far more selective with its true contenders.  That merely happens on its own, not by some secret committee at the league office in New York (I hope).

That said, I think he may be onto something.  I've already stated on here that if these Bulls are ever going to win a title, this will have to be the season.  Despite Cleveland being the popular pick, LeBron James will not guarantee a championship and has even said it could take some time before the team gets to where it wants to be.  If that's true, now is the time for the Bulls to make their move, so this statement might have been properly timed.

While it doesn't sound as intimidating as James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, the Bulls appear to be marketing a Big 3 of their own in Rose, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol.  The trio was photographed together in the first of what could be many memorable moments together.  Tom Thibodeau has the utmost confidence in them, so it's no surprise he's penciled them into his starting lineup for now alongside Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy.

A former MVP point guard is at the center of the club alongside an All-Star center in his prime and a proven low-post scorer.  Considering how weak the East is, that should be enough to get to the conference finals or at the very least, out of the first round.  There's too much talent on this roster to not make it that far.  The only other threats I can see are Miami and Washington, teams still stacked veteran and young talent respectively.

None of this, mind you, will make a difference if Rose's knees betray him once again.  Rose acknowledged that he's going to have to answer questions about them for the rest of his career.  Like everyone else in Chicago, I tensely observed the world championships hoping the worst wouldn't happen.  I didn't care how poorly he performed as long as he returned from Spain in one piece, which he did.

Many are worried that he didn't play particularly well, but remember that he was just trying to get some semblance of a groove back.  In a way, it's a blessing that his first real action didn't come in the preseason or even the first weeks of the regular season.  Although he was trying his best to help the U.S. win gold, his first priority is with the Bulls.  It's best he didn't unleash everything he can be or else, we all would have been really nervous.

So for now, let's be happy that the Bulls are confident in Rose and he's confident in his team.  If everything goes according to plan, this could be a special season on the West Side.  Call it wishful thinking or call it being overly optimistic.  But look at the roster from top to bottom and it's hard not to imagine this club doing some serious damage in the upcoming campaign.

If you prefer to think the glass is half-empty, you're certainly entitled to your opinion.  At the same time though, you should consider what would happen should we see the opposite.  You're seeing an Eastern Conference championship or even a rally in Grant Park, aren't you?  Yeah, just imagine how great it would be.

Rounding Out Camp

Two days remain until the Bulls begin training camp with Media Day at the new Advocate Center.  Thanks to Gar Forman and John Paxson, the preseason roster is now complete at 17.  The duo added three new faces Friday to give a few existing players a run for their spot.  It won't be easy, but they can't say they won't be trying.

Kim English, a former Piston, split time between Italy and France last year and, with the French club Chorale Roanne, averaged 11.2 points in 26.4 minutes per game.  Ben Hansbrough, Tyler's younger brother, most recently played in the Spanish League, averaging 11 points over 23.2 minutes for CB Gran Canaria over the past year.  His last NBA team was the Pacers in 2012-13.  Solomon Jones has played eight years in the NBA, spending 11 games of the 2013-14 season with Orlando for a 1.3 scoring average and 1.5 rebounding average.

I'm not going to make any wild predictions on any of these three making the final roster.  However, it's always fun to think that somebody who might not have thought of playing with the best in basketball this season could do that.  You always like to keep a lookout for any dark horses someone might have missed.  After all, that's one of the purposes of the preseason, isn't it?

As for Media Day, there will undoubtedly be many questions about Derrick Rose as he returns for (hopefully) a full season.  Many will be interested in Pau Gasol and how he hopes to help fellow Spaniard Nikola Mirotic adjust to the NBA game and life here in America.  Still others will want to know just how quickly Doug McDermott can contribute to a championship contender.  All these and more will get at least a partial response.

The season is almost here.  Everything to come over the next month will prepare us for the long haul.  Hopefully, that will culminate into something special this spring.  Basketball is coming back, folks.  Catch the fever.

Praise Mohammed

I'm starting to think I should stop predicting at the end of every season that Nazr Mohammed is finished with the Bulls.  For the second consecutive year, I predicted that the 37-year-old Mohammed's basketball days, or at least his days in Chicago were numbered.  Then again, I will never be an NBA general manager, so I could only go with whatever moves Gar Forman and John Paxson wish to make to round out the Bulls' roster.

Mohammed re-signed for a third season with the Bulls Monday, bringing their roster to 14.  At 6-10, 250 pounds, there's always room for a player with his build in the league, no matter what his age.  It's the equivalent to a kicker in football or a left-handed pitcher in baseball.

The Chicago native played in all but two games during last year's regular season and also appeared in two of the five playoff games against Washington.  His seven minutes per game over the regular schedule were his fewest since his early years in the league, but his mere presence gave the more productive bigs such as Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson a chance to take breather when necessary.  Although his 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last year were nothing to write home about either, he typically exceeded those numbers more than those stats give him credit for.

The Bulls have veteran leadership who bring more to the table in Pau Gasol and Mike Dunleavy, but don't discount what Mohammed can provide, even if he's only good for a few minutes every night.  He can get to the dirty areas and do the little things required of hanging around there.  You'll never see his impact appear in a box score and how he affects the other nine players on the court at a given time can probably be truly measured only by NBA scouts.  With a 17th season forthcoming, he's played the game long enough to know how it works, so he takes care of those minor details while the rest of his teammates thrive in their superior talent and whatever specialty they possess.

If the Bulls are going to succeed this year, they'll need contributions from just about everybody.  I stick by my sentiment that they'll be the team most likely to get past Cleveland in the Eastern Conference playoffs while that three-headed monster takes a year to straighten itself out.  For that to happen, Mohammed will need to play his part in helping out with things fans typically don't pay attention to.  His experience and basketball smarts should make him a candidate to be a coach or scout somewhere in his hometown when he finally decides to retire.

Maybe I sound like I'm gushing over Mohammed just a little bit, but we should give him his due if the Bulls think of him highly enough to trot him out there with basketball's best for another season.  I think everybody could learn some tiny things about the sport they never thought possible by keeping a close eye on him throughout the season.  Even if he only plays in the second or third quarter regularly, that might be just enough for the Bulls to complete a victory in a long 48-minute contest.

Moore Help

Apparently for this year's Bulls, enough depth at guard is never enough.  Just when it appeared there would be enough to back up Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler thanks to Kirk Hinrich, Tony Snell and Aaron Brooks, the Bulls felt they needed someone who could play both guard positions to round themselves out.  That player turned out to be E'Twaun Moore, who will be entering his fourth NBA season.

Moore became the 13th player on the roster with a two-year deal, indicative of how high they are on his prospective help both now and later.  The East Chicago native began his career as a second-round draft pick for Boston, but soon moved on to Orlando, where he has spent the past two years.  In 2013-14, he averaged 6.3 points and 1.4 assists over 19.1 minutes in 79 games.  He was certainly serviceable for a Magic franchise which achieved nothing during his time there, but it was time for him to move on.

Moore is the type of player the Bulls would always welcome to the team.  It's been common for them in recent years to bring aboard players who aren't confined to just one position.  Butler started as a small forward, but soon evolved into the everyman role he enjoys today.  Shooting guard just happened to be the place he was most needed, but he can do his job at either guard or forward.  Taj Gibson, Pau Gasol and Cameron Bairstow are all listed on the Bulls' website as forward-centers.  Granted, only one out of that group has played any minutes for the Bulls to this point, but it shows how dependent they are on guys who are capable of handling more than one job.

With Moore as a two-way guard, it's not likely he's going to be next in line as the point guard who breaks out offensively.  If anybody, Brooks is more primed for it.  Still, the Bulls are taking a chance on somebody whom they clearly see as more than insurance in case one of the better players goes down.  I'd say it's pretty bold to sign anyone to a multi-year deal this late in the offseason, but this is why I'm never going to be in an NBA front office.

I know we should never say never, but I think we've finally got our official roster in place for the season barring any surprises during training camp.  With so much talent in place, it's highly doubtful Moore will be usurping any roles from established Bulls anytime soon, but that at least affords him the opportunity to create his own ways of being valuable.  He has two years to show everyone Gar Forman made the right call on him.  As others in similar situations have often been told, don't screw it up.

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but somebody's got to motivate him, right?

No Pain in Spain? Check

Now that the FIBA World Championships have wrapped up with a U.S. gold medal in hand, Bulls fans the world over can breathe a collective sigh of relief.  Derrick Rose avoided the same fate as Paul George and will report to the new Advocate Center for training camp at the end of the month ready to go.  However, many seem more willing to look past that and focus on his less-than-stellar performance in Spain instead.

During the tournament, Rose came off the bench to average 4.8 points and 3.1 assists.  Not bad for someone who was playing his first real action on two reconstructed knees.  He considered it the beginning of his rehabilitation with the second part coming up in just a couple of weeks.  At the same time, there are whispers that this is an indication of what is to come for Rose during this NBA season and beyond.

While the concern that his knees won't give out again has subsided for now, the bigger fear for many is that the production he once put out there consistently is gone for good.  Since the Bulls have constructed their roster around him with the hopes that he'll return to MVP form, this surely can't be good news for them.

I call on anyone with this line of thinking to relax.  Be glad he didn't choose to go all out like he did during last year's preseason games.  Sure, it would have been nice to see him take over more, especially after Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski implored him to do such.  But keep in mind he might have been content with taking a back seat on this team in favor of others who were more than capable of walking to the gold medal with their eyes closed.

Also consider that Tom Thibodeau was watching everything his star was doing all this time.  If he didn't like what he was seeing, I'm confident he would have taken Rose aside and told him to just go off.  Of course, this could also be a sign of Thibodeau changing his ways of not forcing his players to win at all costs.  That probably hasn't happened, but at least he showed some restraint while working under Coach K this summer.

I'm not worried in the least about Rose.  He knows when the right time will come to unleash the player we've come to know and love.  Before long, he'll be facing the competition he's truly trying to beat by himself in order to win a championship.  This coming year could be his best shot while the new Big 3 in Cleveland attempts to gel together before it really starts to get scary.  Maybe I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt too much, but I've always considered players with great potential as simply lying in the weeds.  That's just me.  Take it for what it is.

This will be the last bit of international ball we'll have to hear about for awhile.  Now, we can start to focus on more than just the Bulls who were trying to help the U.S. defend its world championship.  Just as importantly, we can look at what they'll try to accomplish during the coming NBA season.  Along the way, we should be blessed with more memorable moments from Rose.  I'm confident we will.