Thomas gains 'experience'
Tyrus Thomas has spent time this off-season gathering championship experience.
Or at least witnessing a championship. With best friend and former LSU teammate Glen Davis playing for Boston, Thomas was able to attend Games 1 and 2 of the Finals. He skipped the Celtics' title-clinching Game 6.
"Just being in that atmosphere, it really puts everything in perspective," Thomas said Monday while attending the Derrick Rose introductory news conference.
"Saying you want to win a championship, then actually seeing it; it puts it in perspective and lets you know what you need to do to get there."
Thomas also acknowledged that he will join Rose for at least a couple of games next week at the Orlando summer league. Other Bulls' veterans expected to participate are Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray, Cedric Simmons, Demetris Nichols and JamesOn Curry.
"It was my choice," Thomas said. "I was in Boston a lot with Glen. After seeing that and winning 33 games, you kind of want to do whatever it takes to get better and win. Me playing a couple of summer-league games isn't going to hurt.
The first summer-league practice is Thursday night at the Berto Center. The first of the Bulls' five games at the Orlando league is next Monday against the Miami Heat, whose team should include No. 2 pick Michael Beasley.
Bulls won't be buyers: The NBA's free-agent negotiating period begins today, but the only free agents the Bulls will chase are their own.
General manager John Paxson has made re-signing restricted free agents Luol Deng and Ben Gordon the top priority. He acknowledged Monday that the Bulls will not be heavy free-agent shoppers. The roster is nearly full and the team's payroll will be approaching the luxury-tax threshold if both Deng and Gordon sign new contracts.
"We have 13 roster spots covered right now," Paxson said. "If our roster stays as is, to add someone will probably be a big body of some type if we can.
"Other than that, if we're going to do something substantial, it's going to have to come through trade. Camp is three months away and I still think we have the ability to do something with our roster."
Paxson is counting Gordon and Deng among the 13 players for next season, along with forward Cedric Simmons, who still is under contract, and guard Demetris Nichols, a restricted free agent. The Bulls must decide by July 31 whether to bring guard JamesOn Curry to training camp or buy him out for $100,000.
Staff shaping up: When the Bulls' coaching staff is finalized within the next few days, it's expected to include both Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff, plus former Minnesota assistant Bob Ociepka, who once coached York High School.
It appears Pete Myers will return to the bench and Mike Wilhelm will continue in his role of advance scout.
Head coach Vinny Del Negro also plans to hire a couple of development coaches who will concentrate on working with the players away from practice.
Mike Brown, who spent the second half of last season with the Bulls, is among the candidates for one of those roles.