Bulls looking forward to Dunleavy's return

Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy has stepped up his activity, but it's too soon to tell when he'll be ready to return from back surgery and make lineup choices even tougher.

Following Wednesday's practice, Dunleavy spent about 30 minutes running and shooting. He chose not to speak to reporters, leaving coach Fred Hoiberg to update his condition.

"He did a tempo run (Tuesday), all in a straight line," Hoiberg said. "Hopefully in the next few days he'll be cleared to start cutting.

"Now is about building his strength back up. … The next step is getting back full movement, which hopefully will happen within the next week."

Hoiberg has changed his mind about whether to start Doug McDermott or Tony Snell at small forward. When Dunleavy returns, one of those players might disappear from the rotation.

Dunleavy, 35, had surgery just before the start of training camp on Sept. 25. The original prognosis was an eight-week recovery, but it appears the Bulls' cautious approach will push back his return.

"Don't know for sure," Hoiberg said. "I think he's going to travel with us when we go west, and on our off-days out there hopefully he'll be able to really increase his activity. So yeah, still too soon to say."

Veteran is valuable:

Mike Dunleavy hasn't led the Bulls in many statistical categories, but coach Fred Hoiberg thinks the veteran forward will be an important addition when he returns.

"He means a lot to this team. He had a great year last year," Hoiberg said. "Look at what he did with analytics, the numbers he had, he was as important as anyone.

"He's just a pro. He's always going to be in the right spot. He's going to know the game plan and space the floor, knock down shots.

"He brings an element of toughness as well, that guys that have been around the league as long as he has just have instilled in them.

"So, yeah, we're looking forward to getting him back, but in the meantime Doug (McDermott) and Tony (Snell) have been good."

Noah hopeful for Friday:

The injury news about Joakim Noah was a little more definite. He skipped Wednesday's practice after sitting out Monday's victory at Philadelphia with a sore left knee. But he appears to be on track to play Friday when the Bulls host Charlotte.

"We hope to get him back for full activity tomorrow," Hoiberg said. "We'll see how he responds."