Del Negro to deal with crowded backcourt

One issue settled, another compounded.

Ben Gordon's decision to take the one-year qualifying offer means that the Bulls will officially enter the season overflowing at the guard positions.

Last year when interim coach Jim Boylan tried to divide time between Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha, there were complaints that something had to change.

There was change all right. The Bulls kept everyone else and added No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose, a new franchise point guard. Chris Duhon did depart for New York as a free agent, though that won't ease the logjam.

"We have a lot of guys," first-year coach Vinny Del Negro admitted. "We have a lot of ones, twos and threes, and I look at that as a good problem to have. Obviously, minutes are going to be scarce. We're going to have competitive practices. The guys that are competing and playing the best are going to get the majority of the minutes."

General manager John Paxson didn't rule out trading a guard at some point, but with Gordon set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, there is little chance Kirk Hinrich will be moved, and teams should even bother calling about Rose.

"There are only so many minutes in a game and we have some talented guys in that backcourt," Paxson said. "We're going to develop Derrick this year. He's going to play. Vinny's going to have to find a way to solve that equation."

An injury could end up solving the issue or the Bulls could play plenty of small lineups with Luol Deng at power forward. At the same time, Del Negro promised that he won't be afraid to tell someone to get comfortable on the bench.

"Communication is big," he said. "Everyone will know, 'These are the reasons why.' I'm going to go and talk to them and let them know what I'm thinking and how things are going to come together.

"It's going to be difficult for some guys, because they're not going to play as many minutes as maybe they have in the past or think they should. But I'd rather have it like that than not have enough."

Guarded chemistry: The Bulls have been successful with Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich playing together in an undersized backcourt because Hinrich was able to take on the more challenging defensive matchup.

Will it be more difficult to play Gordon and 6-2 rookie Derrick Rose at the same time?

"A little bit at times," coach Vinny Del Negro answered. "We'll have to pick our spots with that. It's also going to cause problems for other teams, because they've going to have to match up with their speed and scoring ability. It goes both ways."

Bull horns: Michael Ruffin and Aaron Gray sat out Thursday's practices with sprained left ankles. Both players were wearing walking boots and listed as day-to-day, though Ruffin's injury appears to be worse. - Veteran power forward Juwan Howard is about to sign with Denver, according to the Rocky Mountain News. The Bulls had some interest in the Chicago native, but passed due to luxury tax concerns.