The Chicago Bulls started training camp with a first unit of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Ben Wallace and, surprisingly, Florida rookie Joakim Noah.

For Joe Smith and Tyrus Thomas fans, coach Scott Skiles used one word to summarize the significance: "Zero."

"It's only because those guys know all the stuff so they can direct Joakim around for a few days," Skiles said after practice Tuesday morning.

"I feel real fortunate," Noah said after his first NBA practice. "This is all a learning process for me. It's really different. You're used to being that guy to tell the rookies how to do it. And now you're just thrown into a situation where you have no idea what's going on, and it's a whole different speed. But I accept it, and I'm real excited to be in this position."