Doug Thonus released the 60th episode of the Bulls Beat podcast, and it is a good one. In this episode, Thonus covers what each player needs to improve on this offeason, and covers their summer work ethic. Like always, Thonus uses his accurate analysis and a great knowledge of NBA economics to make for a great listen.

Here is what our players have been up to, so far this offseason:

Thabo Sefolosha - His wife was 8 months pregnant at the end of the NBA season. He went back to Europe to be with his wife and family for when the baby was born. He hasn’t been around Chicago very much. He has been working with his former coach back home.

Tyrus Thomas - He has been working out extremely hard this summer. His goals have been a little bit more perimeter oriented, and not working so much on the inside stuff and weight training. David Thorpe said previously that Tyrus really wanted to work on his perimeter game, because he thought it would get him more playing time, but Thorpe wanted him to work on his inside game. Tyrus is doing his 2nd session with Thorpe right now. Doug will have an update soon once Tyrus completes his 2nd workout session with Thorpe.

Joakim Noah - Hasn’t really worked out hard. Thonus says it seems pretty normal for guys to do this after their rookie season, like Tyrus last summer. Doesn’t sound to be up to a whole lot and seems distracted. He just hasn’t been working out as hard as everyone would like him to have been.

Ben Gordon - He has been working out really hard. Gordon works out with his own people (who Duhon once referred to as Gordon’s man-slave). Not very surprising that Gordon is working out so hard. Gordon is an absoute machine He is great with his body. He doesn’t drink heavily or do any drugs. Gordon is a complete health nut and an extraordinary workout warrior. He lives and breathes for basketball.

Kirk Hinrich - He has been one of the hardest working guys this offseason. He has been doing heavy weight training and is bulking up. He is up to around 205 pounds now and a lot more muscular. This should allow him to not wear down as much as he has in the past. He has been working on shooting and ball hadnling. He has been putting out a great effort at the Berto Center in front of the Bulls staff. It is very unlikely he is to be traded before the season starts due to his great offseason. He started working out hard before the Bulls got Rose, so it wasn’t in response to the pick. This is in line with something I was told 2 weeks before the draft that Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas were regulars in the Berto in May, and that Gordon and Deng have been in and out of there a lot too.

Luol Deng - Has also been a workout warrior. Him and Tyrus have been two of the hardest working players at IMG Academy. He has been trying to improve putting the ball on the floor and driving from the basket from 19 feet out. he has also been working out on his range. He is working on the Scottie Pippen bank shot and working on his dribbling game. Everything he has been working on has been more individual moves to help him become more of a go to scorer.

Drew Gooden - He has had a very good offseason so far. He has been working out down in Florida. He is in tremendous shape. He is trying to get that humongous offer next offseason, when he is a free agent.

You can listen to the podcast at Bullsbeat.com

Also, Doug is selling tickets at face value at his site, so check that out. The seats are right in the center of the court and range from the season opener against Milwaukee, to games against the Knicks, Magic, Pistons, Cavaliers, Celtics, and Heat.

Vinny Del Negro appeared on 670 the Score this week to discuss the upcoming season.

Vinny thinks that everything is going well so far. All of the player’s have had productive summers so far and the head coaching job is everything he thought that it would be.

In Vinny Del Negro’s training camp, they will have two a days for the first week. They are only allowed to have one contact practice per a day, which will be the evening practice. During the evening practices players will go through drills and scrimmage. They will go through some defensive things, offensive execution, and timing.

He thinks that it was a no brainer for him to want two experienced guys that he has known for a long time in Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff at his side. The final call will always be his call, but his assistants will be giving him suggestions.

He thinks that Derrick Rose is doing fine. The tendinitis in Rose’s knee handled itself. Rose hase been at the Berto Center working. Other players have been starting to work out at the Berto Center as well and overall the environment there is positive.

He thinks Rose will have to adjust to the speed of the game, the physicality of the game, the number of games, and having to play great players every night. He needs to know how to approach practice and learn how to quarterback the team. Once Derrick understands how the system works he will be able to make suggestions and Vinny will give Rose the responsibility of deciding which plays to call.

Vinny thinks that the contracts weigh on young players’ minds. He is looking for Luol Deng to be one of the leaders of the team this upcoming season.

Vinny thinks that Ben Gordon is a terrific player. He wants Ben Gordon here, but they have to wait to find a deal that everyone is happy with. Vinny hopes that the situation gets resolved before training camp. The Bulls will welcome Ben back with open arms, even if he is one the qualifying offer. Vinny really wants Ben to be on the team. He thinks that on the qualifying offer that Ben will want to have a big year to show what type of player he is on both sides of the court.

Just a personal interjection. It almost seems as if the Bulls really want Ben Gordon on the qualifying offer. It seems like they really like Ben, but would rather have a one year test drive to see if Ben is compatible with Rose going forward. If he proves he can be great next to Rose, the Bulls will happily give him his big contract next summer to prevent the Miami Heat or Portland Trailblazers from stealing him away.

Lastly, Vinny said that he wants John Paxson’s opinions and views on things. He thinks it is good to have someon’es opinion who isn’t in the heat of the battle everyday.

You can listen to this interview at 670thescore.com

The Chicago Bulls today re-signed free agent forward, Demetris Nichols, to a one year contract. With this signing, the Bulls have showed their commitment in retaining the most important players on the team.

Okay, maybe Nichols isn’t that important, but Paxson does see him as part of the team moving forward. Paxson thinks Nichols can be one of our long range threats in the future. Long range shooting is integral to championship success. Paxson has called Nichols a futures play.

The 59th episode of the Bulls Beat podcast, done by Doug Thonus, was released today. In this episode, Thonus talks about some “Inside Info” and the Ben Gordon situation primarily. He also reads some listeners emails and discusses the Olympics.

“Inside Info” is a poster over at the RealGM board. He has posted a number of rumors that came out to be true. These include the Vinny Del Negro signing, JamesOn Curry being cut, Pargo going to Europe, and the Demetris Nichols signing. He has come out with two more rumors.

The first rumor is that Kirk Hinrich is up to 205 pounds and has been getting stronger. Personally, I think this is pointless. I think a shooting guard (which I assume Hinrich is trying to be) is better off at a lighter weight. At a heavier weight, Hinrich will likely lose some quickness. With the new rules, which allow less contact on the perimeter, being heavier doesn’t give the player much of an advantage. Ben Gordon actually, one of the buffer guards in the league, actually has cut down on his weightlifting the past two seasons because he found it wasn’t benefiting him in games, and has instead focused on gaining more quickness.

The second rumor is that the Bulls are shopping Tyrus Thomas. This is actually a pretty old rumor that has been around for awhile. I think people just ignored it, because of their love for Tyrus, or thought these rumors went away, because of some stories of Tyrus working out hard at IMG Academy.

The Bulls probably realize that Tyrus Thomas will not be the player they hoped he would be, when they decided to take him with the second pick in the draft. Omer Asik looks to fill the same role as Tyrus Thomas, so the Bulls front office might want to package Tyrus Thomas with some other guys in a consolidation trade, and then fill the void with Omer Asik. Joakim Noah also could fill the void. This of course, is all just speculation.

Doug also gives some good updates on the Ben Gordon front.

The first piece of news on the Gordon front is that there are no big money deals left in Europe. It was rumored that Dynamo was after Gordon. They probably were after Gordon, seeing as they signed Jannero Pargo, a scoring guard. Dynamo probably found Gordon to not be too interested at the time, and decided on Pargo, instead of waiting out for Gordon, who they thought was an impossibility.

The second piece of news is that Ben Gordon may switch agents. Doug thinks the Raymond Brothers may have let Gordon’s expectations get out of hands. There are two paths that Gordon could end up taking. The first, is signing an agent who tells him to take the Bulls offer because it is his value. The second, is signing an agent who tells him the Raymond Brothers are poor negotiators and that he can get him more. Doug thinks it is the latter, because Gordon could just take the current offer with Raymond Brothers, and doesn’t need a new agent to take that offer.

One thing Doug didn’t cover in that, is that Gordon shakes things up, and perhaps gets a power agent. Ben Gordon getting a new agent, at least to me, is an indication that he is preparing to take the qualifying offer. Gordon wants an agent that will be able to get him a good deal next summer, as his last agent and Raymond Brothers, have so far failed in that regard.

Doug is reporting that Ben Gordon that Ben Gordon is still waiting out to see whether or not there are any sign and trade offers. Doug personally thinks that Gordon will take the Bulls offer if he cannot find any takers in a sign and trade.

You can listen to this podcast at Bullsbeat.com