Bulls' rookie Derrick Rose has admitted that his teammates haven't hazed him, thus far.

"We can't throw too much at him because he's starting right now and playing a big role," forward Drew Gooden said. "With some of those bottom-of-the-barrel rookies, you can kind of take more advantage of them.

"Derrick Rose, slowly but surely when he finds his role, we'll have him doing some chores."

After landing the head coaching job in Chicago, one of the first people that Vinny Del Negro sought advice from was Boston coach Doc Rivers, the Chicago Tribune is reporting.

Del Negro played two seasons with Rivers in San Antonio from 1994-96.

"Doc gave me some advice, but it's more between me and him," Del Negro said. "He knows what it's like. Those are the people I talked to a lot and sought out. He was kind enough to give me some helpful information."

Bulls' guard Derrick Rose and forward Tyrus Thomas both sat out practice on Wednesday.

Rose bruised his thigh in the team's season-opening win over Milwaukee on Tuesday while Thomas tweaked a swollen ankle he had been playing on.

"He's a little sore, but he'll be fine,"Ccoach Vinny Del Negro said of Rose.

Barring any setbacks, both are expected be in the starting lineup Friday when the Bulls travel to Boston to face the defending champion Celtics.

The Chicago Bulls have announced that Luol Deng, Drew Gooden, and Kirk Hinrich as the team's captains for 2008-2009, the Chicago Sun-Times are reporting.

''I met with all the players [Monday] and got kind of a consensus,'' Coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''Then I made some decisions on it. I felt that way and so did the team, so it was an easy decision.''

Derrick Rose, the first overall pick from June's NBA Draft, scored 11 points and dished 8 assists on Tuesday night as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 108-95.

The two teams were tied at 26 after the first quarter, but the Bulls outscored the Bucks in each of the three remaining periods to open the 2008-09 season with a victory.

Luol Deng led Chicago with 21 points and 5 rebounds while Tyrus Thomas contributed 15 points and 10 boards against Milwaukee.

Ben Gordon scored 18 points off the bench.

Michael Redd led all scorers with 30 points for the Bucks, and Richard Jefferson added 15 points and 4 rebounds in his debut with Milwaukee.

The Bulls shot 50% from the field and attempted forty-four free throws at the United Center. The Bucks hit 47% of their shots but got to the foul line just twenty times.

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has re-signed forward/center Michael Ruffin to a contract.  

Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.  

Ruffin (6-8, 248) was a member of Chicago?s 2008 preseason roster but missed seven games due to a left ankle sprain.    

Chicago?s roster now stands at 14.

Ben Gordon has not made secret his desire to be a starter, but when the Bulls' season starts on Tuesday night. Gordon will once again be on the bench, the Chicago Tribune is reporting.

Gordon played in only one preseason game after hurting his left toe, which could be part of the season that he will not be in the starting lineup.

"I still have to fine-tune everything and catch up," Gordon said. "I might come out and my rhythm is there right away. But not practicing as much as I'd like to, naturally, I think I'll have to find my rhythm."

Gordon again showed enthusiasm to be playing with Derrick Rose, the first overall pick of the 2008 Draft.

"Derrick is a great penetrator. I'm expecting a lot of open shots when he's out there. I think we complement each other well."

Bulls' rookie guard Derrick Rose expects to be ready for the start of the regular season despite suffering a hip flexor on Friday night in the team's exhibition finale.

He suffered the injury in the first quarter, after which he left the United Center and did not return to the game.

"It's not a big deal at all," said Rose. "I could have played in the second half, but they told me to sit down."

Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro said that they decided to be cautious.

"[Rose] wanted to go back in," Del Negro said. "But there's no sense taking a risk there. We got him some rest. He'll be fine."

Bulls' guard Larry Hughes had a second MRI on Friday and could only miss 2-4 weeks of action instead of the 2-3 months that was initially reported.

Hughes will begin rehabbing shortly. If he is out two weeks, he would miss five regular season games. If he's out for four weeks, Hughes would miss 12.

Bucks' coach Scott Skiles believes that his former team has a star in Derrick Rose, the Daily Herald is reporting.

"I watched him play in college and I watch his games now. The guy's a star," Skiles said before Friday's preseason finale at the United Center. "I think the sky's the limit for him."

"He's beyond quick. He's quick and fast, if that makes any sense, and so powerful. He can go to the rim and finish. He's got a bunch of unique shots in the painted area he can make, floaters and runners. That's not even to mention that he sees the floor, passes the ball. He can be very hard to handle, there's no question about that."

"I'm getting more comfortable with the offense and with my teammates," Rose said. "I'm just reacting instead of thinking. This is almost like the Memphis offense. If you think too much, you're just going to kill yourself when you're on the court and beat yourself up."

Another strategy Rose employed is staying aggressive on offense.

"I'm not the type of point guard to sit back and pass the ball all day," he said. "I can score a little bit, so that helps the team. When I get to be more aggressive, we get people open. I'm just attacking and getting people open right now."