Bulls vow to learn from last season's mistakes

Bulls media night at the Berto Center seemed more sparsely attended than usual on Monday.

Perhaps that was because the event bumped up against the White Sox rain-delayed survival game against Detroit. But there is no denying that the Bulls' buzz has dropped considerably after the team entered last season with great expectations, then stumbled to a 33-49 record.

The minds of many players are focused on returning to the form that earned the Bulls' three straight trips to the playoffs from 2005-07.

"The bottom line is we're going to work hard, we've got to be committed and we have to win," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "We've got to get back to the playoffs. Just having this small taste of it for those three years, that's where it's at. You don't want to be done in April, that's for sure."

A year ago, the Bulls entered the season with some seasoned veterans in Ben Wallace, Adrian Griffin and Joe Smith. Those players have since departed, leaving guard Larry Hughes the team's elder statesmen at age 29. Hinrich and forward Luol Deng vowed to help fill the leadership gap.

"Going through a season like that, hopefully it will bring us together, make us better individual leaders," Deng said. "I'm really looking forward to being a better leader than I was in the past, being more vocal and just showing more emotions out there for my teammates.

"I felt last year, with everything we went through, we got away from playing hard. With the character we have on this team, that's not really us."

General manager John Paxson said a better effort was his main point of emphasis when he addressed the players Monday.

"I'm not worried about anything right now other than us getting back to playing hard and competitive like we have in the past," Paxson said. "That's really the bottom line because then everything takes care of itself."

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Summer of change: Kirk Hinrich became a father over the summer, as he and his wife Jill welcomed a daughter, Kenzie.

"It's been great," he said. "It's been a handful, but it's been great. Whenever you have your first one, there's nothing like it."

Hinrich added that despite his new responsibilities, he felt he had the best summer of preparation he's had since joining the Bulls in 2003.

"I got married last year, played USA Basketball the summer before," he said. "I was just in the gym and in the weight room (this year). I felt like I had a great summer." ...

Second-year center Aaron Gray dropped nearly 30 pounds during the off-season.

"It was just being smarter," said Gray, who spent the bulk of his summer in Chicago. "Not eating late at night, drinking lots of water, cutting out soda, that kind of thing. I'm excited for the season to start. I've really played well the last month. Once the season gets here, I'll show you."...

Second-year center Joakim Noah missed a few weeks of workouts due to an ankle injury, but he felt the inactivity helped him add 10 pounds to his thin frame.

"It was tough because I wasn't able to be on the court as much as I wanted to, but I lifted weights and I did as much as I could to help my situation," he said.

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Pointed words: General manager John Paxson on third-year forward Tyrus Thomas, who seemed to regress after a promising rookie season:

"I don't want to put a lot of undue pressure on Tyrus, but this is a big, big year for him," Paxson said. "I was really pleased at the commitment he made this summer, because he spent time in the gym. He still has a long way to go, but I hope that he has a great camp, because he did put the time in this summer to put himself in good position."...

Rookie Derrick Rose when asked if he knows what's in store for his first NBA training camp: "I don't know what's going to happen. All I hear is it's going to be hard. In Memphis, our training camp was kind of hard. So if this is harder than that, it will be unbelievable."

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Bulls seats on sale: Tickets for every 2008-09 Bulls home game will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at the United Center box office, TicketMaster outlets, bulls.com and by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX. Prices range from $10 to $155.