Jimmy Butler has played his way into Tom Thibodeau's rotation over Marco Belinelli.

Butler started playing more minutes last week against the Blazers and Rockets.

Belinelli has struggled to meet the defensive standards of Thibodeau.

“I think he’s still learning and putting forth great effort, and he’ll continue to improve,’’ Thibodeau said of Belinelli’s defense.

“His attitude is great, his approach is great, so he just has to be patient.’’

Butler was the first round pick of the Chicago Bulls in 2011.

The Los Angeles Lakers are interested in acquiring Raja Bell, accordig to sources.

Bell remains under contract with the Utah Jazz, but hasn't been with the club all season.

The Jazz are expected to execute a buyout of Bell's contract once he finds a minimum deal with another club. Bell won't lose any money between the buyout and joining a new team.

The Chicago Bulls have also expressed interest in Bell.

After being waived by the Washington Wizards, Jannero Pargo has received interest from a number of teams, agent Mark Bartelstein told RealGM on Friday.

The Chicago Bulls are among the teams that have already reached out to Pargo, and the two parties plan to talk in the coming days, as his representatives will do with other interested teams.

“We’ll talk, so we’ll see,” Bartelstein said by phone.

Before Washington signed him on Oct. 1, Pargo nearly landed with his hometown Bulls. He has spent four of his nine NBA seasons in Chicago and still maintains a healthy relationship with the Bulls’ organization.

The Wizards cut Pargo on Thursday to open a roster spot for the 6-foot-7 Shaun Livingston, relieving their logjam of smaller point guards.

Pargo, 33, averaged three points and two assists in seven games for the Wizards this season. He’s a career 35 percent three-point shooter and can still provide an effective, yet streaky outside presence.

The Chicago Bulls will build their new basketball practice facility on a site next to the United Center, releasing a preliminary architectural rendering of the planned facility.

"I am pleased that the Bulls are moving their practice facilities into the City of Chicago and continuing the great work revitalizing the entire neighborhood around the United Center," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "The Bulls are an iconic championship team and a source of pride for our city. Their future, and the future of the West Side, is bright."

The location planned for the new facility is Parking Lot J, which sits east of the United Center across South Wood Street between Monroe and Madison Streets. Plans for the new facility remain in development and the project, which will be funded completely by the Bulls, is scheduled for completion in time for the 2014-15 season.

The Bulls have practiced at the Sheri L. Berto Center in Deerfield, IL, since 1992. The team intends to sell the current practice facility.

Tom Thibodeau uses advanced stats, but places more value in the trained eyes of his basketball staff.

“Stats are important,’’ Thibodeau said. “We’ve always used stats; they just weren’t called advanced metrics as far back as the ’90s. Now it’s taken on a whole different meaning. I think stats are important, but I also think the trained eye is more important, and usually the numbers will confirm what you’re thinking or make you look at something a little differently.’’

Thibodeau coached under Jeff Van Gundy with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. 

“When I was in New York,’’ Thibodeau said, ‘‘Jeff Van Gundy was there, and he had been under Pat Riley. He always believed in stats. I’ve always thought it was an important part of the game.’’

Derrick Rose continues to progress in his rehab from a torn ACL in his left knee.

"He's doing great," Tom Thibodeau said. "You have to be patient with it. He's been very diligent, he's in every day. He's moving along. He started cutting, he's been shooting for a while now, he feels pretty good so we just have to be patient."

Rose underwent surgery on May 12 and Thibodeau is convinced that he will be back this season.

"For us, he's in every day so they see how hard he's working at his rehab, he's around his teammates, but we can't use that as a crutch," Thibodeau said. "You can't replace a guy like Derrick individually, your only chance is if you're doing it collectively. So we need everybody else to focus in on knowing what their job is, doing their job, and then doing it as a team. For us, that's our only chance. Whether Derrick's there or not, our approach and our attitude, that shouldn't change. And the focus has to be on our improvement and that's where we want it to be."

After watching a strong workout last week, the Atlanta Hawks have yet give Kyrylo Fesenko an indication of whether they’ll sign him. But the 7-foot-1 big man told RealGM on Monday afternoon that Atlanta remains interested and is still an option.

“[The workout] went very well and it was very positive talking to [Hawks] coaches and the administration,” Fesenko said in a phone conversation. “I was running hard, jumping, dunking, shooting.”

As of now, Fesenko is continuing to work out in Colorado to get in better shape while monitoring which potential situations or injuries pop up as the season continues.

“He is in good shape,” said trainer Matt Barnett, who has helped lead Fesenko’s sessions in Denver. “I believe that training … at Elevation Basketball in Colorado altitude is really helping him prepare for the day he gets the call. It’s hard to simulate an NBA practice in private workouts, but we are pushing him every day to prepare him the best we can.”

Fesenko was waived by the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 18, a week after sustaining a flu that kept him out of practices and games. He was disappointed in being hit with the sickness in the midst of battling throughout training camp.

“My [flu] really was bad timing because I was supposed to play more,” said Fesenko.

He also praised the Bulls for parting ways earlier than they had to so that he could pursue opportunities elsewhere as a free agent.

The Bulls will be able to add a player on a veteran minimum deal later this month, at which point Fesenko has not ruled out returning. Even so, Fesenko knows the opportunity with Chicago might not come, and he’s adamant that he isn't “picky” about where he could sign. He has dealt with nagging injuries, including a leg ailment that hampered him last season, but makes it clear he’s fully healthy now.

“I just want to get back into the league and show everyone the new and improved me,” Fesenko said. “Teams haven’t gotten to see me healthy, 100 percent, but hopefully I can get back.”