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

Former Chicago Bulls allstar, B.J. Armstrong, joined Mully and Hanley on 670 the Score today. They discussed the Bulls top draft selection, Derrick Rose, who Armstrong represents.

For a portion of the interview, they discussed B.J. Armstrong’s relationship with John Paxson. Armstrong said that he shared a laugh with John Paxson over the courses of their careers. They were together as teammates on the Bulls in the 1990’s, they went their separate ways, came back together in the Bulls’ front office, then they went their separate ways again, and now they come back together in a player agent-general manager relationship. Armstrong sees Paxson as a hard worker who always does due diligence. He feels Paxson has done a great job drafting, and will get the franchise into a position where they will be able to win year in and year out.

Armstrong has been working with Derrick Rose on functioning as an adult in society. He said that it took him a month to get Derrick to stop calling him Sir or Mr. Armstrong. He took Derrick to a grocery store and taught Derrick how to shop. The reason for this, due to Armstrong, was that these 18 and 19 year olds have not experienced the things that adults take for granted, and that Derrick needs to be transitioned from college life to adult life.

He has been working on getting Derrick to be a more vocal leader. The main thing with leadership, Armstrong says, is how to develop a relationship. He states that, “relationships are built on trust. Do they trust you with the basketball, do they trust you to setup the offense…etc.”. Armstrong says that Derrick has to absorb a lot of the knowledge that the veterans on the team already have in order to become a better leader.

Derrick should have no problem being a leader as a result of the competitive personality that Derrick possesses according to Armstrong. Derrick has only lost 13 games in his combined high school and college career. Derrick, growing up on the playground has that attitude for when you lose a game of next time, because he wants to get right out there and play again. Armstrong hopes that Derrick never loses the quality of never accepting losses ever. He knows Derrick will lose games, but that doesn’t mean that Derrick cannot want to and think he can win every game.

The interview can be listened to at 670theScore.com.

Fresh off the NBA Draft, John Paxson went on 670 the Score to discuss his selection of Derrick Rose with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Omer Asik, and the restricted free agency situation.

From the start, Paxson saw this as a two player draft with there being no question that Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley would be the top two picks. Ultimately, Paxson chose Rose over Beasley because he felt that the position of point guard is so hard to fill for the long term, so when you have the opportunity to take a player of Derrick’s caliber, you cannot pass that up. Paxson does not think that there are any other point guards in the league who possess Derrick’s physical gifts of strength and speed.

Paxson feels that the point guard is at a premium because of the rule changes that the NBA made a few years ago. The NBA changed the rules to allow less contact on the perimeter. Paxson feels these rules make it so that really good guards who can penetrate with speed and quickness have a huge advantage in the NBA. He thinks that Derrick will be able to get to any spot on the court that he wants to.

He feels that Derrick will be a great fit with the other young players already on the team. He thinks a natural way to lead is by making the guys around you better. Paxson feels that Derrick will be able to take advantage of Tyrus Thomas’ and Joakim Noah’s youth, athleticism, and ability to run the court. In addition, he sees Rose making Luol Deng better by setting him up for easier shots in transition.

Paxson’s hope is for Rose to take to take over the team from day one and run with it, but he preaches patience because Derrick is only 19 years old. Paxson is confident that if Rose doesn’t take over the team from day one, that he will take it over very soon.

With their 2nd round pick, the Chicago Bulls selected Sonny Weems who they dealt shortly after for Omer Asik, a 7 foot, Turkish center. Paxson sees Asik as a futures play. Paxson did not want to add any more players to the roster out of the draft other than Derrick. Paxson said that Omer Asik will be able to come over in 2010.

The Bulls plan to start talks with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon at the beginning of free agency. The Bulls have been in constant contact with both Deng and Gordon, and Jerry Reinsdorf has talked to both players. They want to sit down face to face with both guys right away. While Paxson hopes to get things done early on, he knows that you never know what’s going to happen in free agency.

This interview can be listened to at 670theScore.com

Mully and Hanley got Michael Beasley in for an interview following his pre-draft workout with the Bulls. They talked to him about his thoughts on the draft, his goals, and his thoughts on Vinny Del Negro and John Paxson.

Michael Beasley said that the draft process has been a little nerve racking, but he just wants to be laid back throughout the entire process. He doesn’t want to let the process live his life, or make it out to be anything more than it is.

They told him that the thought that the lottery was to determine who gets to take Michael Beasley. They ask him what he thinks about it now being a two man race. He first says no, that he didn’t tink it was a lottery to take Michael Beasley and then quickly changes his answer to yes. Beasley thinks that the two man race is good because it makes the process more competitive. He also thinks that a two man race is better for the fans.

Beasley thought that Vinny and Paxson were really cool guys. He said they have a couple of stories and jokes up their sleeves and that they were a lot of fun at dinner.

Beasley feels that he makes the other players around him better, especially guards. He thinks he can be a great low post presence that draws double teams, freeing up the guards for open looks.

Michael Beasley wants to be no one other than Michael Beasley. He just wants to be himself. Beasley intends to be the greatest player to ever playing the game, but as Beasley says, “With no disrespect to the greats that passed through this league and are still in it.”

The interview can be listened to at 670theScore.com