Since the 1998-1999 season, Chicago has seen a mass amount of players come and go. Some were drafted then traded to get a veteran who could help the team. The veteran retired after a season or two or moved on after failing to bring the bulls to a winning season. We all know how the roster played musical names in the early 2000′s.

Even though the team went through a long rebuilding period, there was still enough solid players to form a top ten, especially since the team has been to the playoffs five of the last six years.

This top 10 includes Bulls players from the 1998-1999 season to the 2009-2010 season. I would like to consider Carlos Boozer  or Kyle Korver, but they haven’t played a game as a Bull.  With this said, lets get to the Top 10 Bulls After Jordan and Pippen Left.

Honorable Mention: Eddy Curry, John Salmons, Tyson Chandler and if he would not have been on his motorcycle, Jay Williams.

10:  JAMAL CRAWFORD 2000-2004

Crawford played with the Bulls for his first four years in the league. He battled Williams and other point guards for minutes, but he used his minutes to his advantage to market himself for other teams. During his final season as a Bull, 2003-2004, he averaged 17 points and five assists a game while leading all Bulls in points.

9: Brad Miller 2000-2002 and 2008-2010

Miller has had two stints with the Bulls, both were for a season and a half. He brought much needed toughness  and a soft scoring touch to the Bulls front court. In the playoffs two seasons ago, he hit a couple of big threes to extend the epic first round series against the Boston Celtics.

8: Ron Artest 1999-2002

Before he was fighting in Detroit or winning championships with the Lakers, Artest was the backbone of the Chicago Bulls defense. He led the team in steals for three consecutive series.

7: Elton Brand 1999-2001

Brand only played for the Bulls two years, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. As a rookie, he led the Bulls with 20 points a game and 10 rebounds. To this day, he is the only big man Chicago could rely on for points in the paint.

6: Joakim Noah 2007-present

Noah is the new version of Dennis Rodman. He devotes his body to getting rebounds and diving on the court for loose balls.  He has led the team in boards two of his three seasons,  second in his rookie season, and led the NBA for more than half of the 2009-2010 season as he averaged a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds a game.

5: Luol Deng 2004-present

Deng has averaged double digits points per game in each of his six seasons as a Bull. He has also grabbed five or more rebounds a game including seven per contest in the 2009-2010 season. He has been the x-factor for the Bulls and a reliable second or third option during his entire stay.

4: Jalen Rose  2001-2004

Rose was the first star to play for the Bulls after Jordan and Pippen left. He had been in Reggie Miller’s shadow in Indiana for his entire career before he came to Chicago. In his two full seasons, he led the team with 23 and 22 points a game. He also averaged five assist and grabbed four rebounds a game.

3: Kirk Hinrich 2003-2010

Hinrich is the longest tenure player since the post Jordan/Pippen era. He led the team in assists for five consecutive years and scored in the top four on the team for five years. During his stay in Chicago, he was the best perimeter defender on the team and one of the best shooters.

2: Ben Gordon 2004-2009

Gordon led the Bulls in scoring in each of the five years he was on the team. He was the go to guy and the only premier shooter the Bulls have had.  If he wasn’t on the team, the Bulls would have never pushed the Celtics two years ago, because he was the fire power matching up against Boston’s Ray Allen.

1: Derrick Rose 2008-present

In two seasons, Rose has done more than any other Bull has since 1998. He won the rookie of the year award and was the first player from Chicago named to NBA all-star team since Jordan in 1998. Derrick is the first franchise player, someone they can build a team around, the Bulls  have had in this time period. He doesn’t only put up stats and bring home awards but he is also the first sign of hope to returning the Bulls as an elite team in the NBA.

Joakim Noah is becoming one of my favorite players.  He plays hard every minute of the game and at the same time shows a personality.  Whether it is talking thrash about Cleveland or looking at the crowd with an energized look when he swats a ball at them, he is showing Joakim the person.

Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James and Dwight Howard are just a few players who show a little or a lot of personality.

Noah has transformed himself into one of these players during the season.

The guys from HHR and Blogs with Balls  got the opportunity to spend a day with Noah.  I am extremely jealous.  My friends at Yardbarker.com thought it would be great to email me the video to rub it in. Thanks guys.

Noah seemed to be a real chill guy.  I can’t believe he tried to get one of them to wear the bowtie.  I couldn’t stop laughing.

Not in this case. This little comment about the city may back fire for Noah and the Bulls because of Lebron.  James grew up in Ohio and has said nothing but good things about the city and state during his six years as a member of the Cavaliers.

Noah is getting booed every time he touches the ball and the fans cheer every time he commits a foul or misses a shot.  I don’t mind it at all.  Sometimes having a villain is a good thing.  In this case,  I think it is great for Noah to show some kind of edge but against Lebron?  Why make a beast mad?  Lebron can already dismantle Chicago by himself, Noah doesn’t need to add fuel to the fire.

Hopefully,  Noah will play with this edge, not just work his mouth.  James will play aggressive on a different level than he usually does.  Wonder if there is going to be a welcoming crew for Noah when he gets back to Chicago?

They have suffered bad loses to bad teams.  Which includes the Sacramento Kings winning after being down 35 points.  Yeah, the Bulls gave away the win to the second largest comeback in NBA history.

They have also had some good wins against good teams in this stretch.  They left arenas victorious against San Antonio, Orlando and took two games from New Orleans with Chris Paul.

Yesterday’s game seemed like a sealed .500 victory.  The Indiana Pacers are the sixth worst team in the NBA.  Danny Granger,  their best player,  has been hurt for most of the season.  When he has played,  there are signs of lingering pain.

The Bulls did not come to play.  The board grabbing presence of Joakim Noah was exposed.  They looked bored to say the least and were lucky to come away with the 109-101 win to become even with a 25-25 record.

Noah is needed.  He will be greeted with open arms by everyone when he returns after the All Star break.

ESPN/Getty Images

1. Vinny del Negro: This will be Vinny del Negro’s first game as a coach in the NBA, let alone the head coach of one of the league’s youngest teams.  The Bulls line up is filled with plenty of potential.  Their are a number of young guys on this roster that could be potential stars in the NBA, it will be interesting to see how he handles the squad.
2. Derrick Rose: This will be Rose’s first attempt at running team’s point.  This is also a home game, meaning he will be playing in front of plenty of family and friends.  We all remember the last time the Bulls drafted a hometown boy (see Eddy Curry).  Rose will also have the tough task of guarding one of the leagues best point guards of all time, Jason Kid.  It will be interesting to see Rose’s role in his first game and how he gets the rest of the guys involved.
3. Overload at Guard:  The Bulls have a long list of guards, all of whom could be worthy of playing time: Rose, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Thabo Sefolosha and Larry Hughes.  John Paxson has already stated the Bulls will develop Rose into a team leader at point guard this season, so he should get plenty of playing time.  Gordon has always been a great sixth man of the bench, so look for him to get those end of the game minutes when the game counts if he can reduce his turnovers.  Hinrich has been the captain of this team for a few years now.  He has always played tough defense, but his lack of shooting last year is a major concern.  Look for him to play against opponents top scoring threats. Sefolosha also has the backing of Paxson, as the Bulls would like to see him develop into a top scoring threat.  With Gordon likely leaving next summer, the Bulls will need to look for someone to replace the leading scorer of the previous three seasons.  As for Hughes, he is one of the Bulls few veterans.  His experience should be key to teaching these young players.  He also has a knack for playing tough defense, and could get some big minutes late in the game. It should be interesting to see how del Negro handles this situation.
4. Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah: Thomas and Noah combined, would be one great player.  Thomas is a savvy, quick offense player, who has a knack for finding lanes to get open away from the ball.  Noah plays hard nosed defense, and thrives on getting second chance shoots by getting garbage boards.  Del Negro has been public about Noah’s poor performance in summer league, and if he is healthy enough to play it will be interesting to see his role.  As for Thomas, don’t be surprised if you see him receive an ally oop pass from Rose.
5. Ben Gordon’s role: After failing to come to agreement on a long term deal two summers in a row now, it would be surprising if he stays with the Bulls after this season.  Gordon has lead the Bulls in scoring every year in his career, so his shooting ability will be needed.  Knowing that is probably not a long term option after this season, the Bulls would like to develop their young guys so it will be interesting to see how Gordon fits into the rotation.  Like I stated above though, I would like to see him off the bench.

This first game should be an interesting test for the entire Chicago Bulls team.  From the rookie coach to rookie point guard, it should be an interesting game to watch.  There will be a lot to learn in the first game, and even though the Bulls have plenty of players to figure out playing time for that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Although nothing has happened, that doesn’t mean the rumors and analysis on what the Bulls should do have stopped.  Different ideas and possibilities have surfaced throughout the internet over the previous week, non of which appear to be that certain.

Here are a few over the rumors, analysis and other news that has come about over the last week or so.

• The Bodog Beat blog reported rumors of a possible trade between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.  The trade would send Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Chicago in exchange for Ben Gordon, Joakim Noah and Larry Hughes.  They are now reporting that trade talks between the two trade have halted.  The Beat also posted their ten reason why to bet on the NBA this year and number two on their list appeared the Chicago Bulls: “2. Chicago Bulls – The Bulls were expected to be an NBA title contender last season before completely tanking. With No. 1 pick Derrick Rose in tow will this season be any brighter for the Bulls?”
• The fans at Bleacher Report provided some Chicago Bulls analysis as well this week.  Michael Whittenberg gave his 2008-09 Chicago Bulls season preview.  Michael believes the Bulls will finish in 8th place in the Eastern Confernece with a 42-40 record.  The only question I have about that, is when was the last time all 8 teams that made the play-offs in the EC finished with a record above .500?  Adam Miller also gave his intake on the on going Ben Gordon-Chicago Bulls standoff, saying its a ‘no-win situation’ for either side.
• BetUs.com also provide their 2008-09 Chicago Bulls season preview.  Theres a lot of betting terms that I kind of fail to understand.  They have the Bulls at +1100 to win the Eastern Confrence and +2500 to win the NBA Championship.
• Diabolo at BlogaBull.com gave his view on Vinny del Negro and the Bulls in 08-09.  Much of which has to due with the Vinny’s first year as a coach and getting the locker room to ‘jell’ together.
• And last, but not least, from the UK the Great Britan national team has Luol Deng back on the court. In case you missed some previous news, after Deng signed his new deal with the Bulls, the company who insures players contracts elected not to insure Deng because of injury problems which kept him from being able to play with the Britain team.  Last week though he was re-insured, and has began playing with the national team.  As you’ll see on this UK news site, the basketball section is filled with praises for their GB team and Luol Deng

Hope this helps you get caught up on everything thats been going on.  My 2008-09 Chicago Bulls preview is currently being worked on and can be expected in the coming weeks.

First, lets say Ben Gordon is playing elsewhere in the upcoming season. This makes the back court a little less crowded, but even though he was not a true shooting guard, who will be the shooting guard now? This puts a lot of pressure on different players, in other roles, to step up their game. Kirk Hinrich, will fell even more pressure than he already should, to return to his form before a down season in 2007. Big men such as Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray will have pressure turned towards them to begin performing well on a daily basis. And Thabo Sefolosha may finally get his chance to show we he can do on a more regular basis.

Which leads to the question of who will get playing time in the crowded positions? During the ‘Skiles Era’ there was always players that were in the ‘doghouse.’ He seemed to prejudge players before giving them a chance, such as Tim Thomas and Dikembe Mutombo. The new coaching staff should look to give evreyone an equal chance during training camp coming up in the next couple weeks to show what they can do. Putting players in different roles during pre-season to see where they are best suited in his system. This will give players such as Thomas, Noah and Thabo a new beginning. IF everyone knows their defined roles heading into the season, they should be prepared on a night-by-night basis when and where they will be needed.

Next is trying to figure out Kirk Hinrich’s role on the team. Hinrich has been the captain and leader of this team for a few years now at the point guard position. After drafting Derrick Rose, it is apparent he is now the future of this team at point guard. Hinrich is still a young player, and would most likely not be open to the idea of being a mentor to the young Rose, especially if it comes at the lose of playing time. If captain Kirk cannot show he can preform at the level he did prior to last season, his playing time will drop.

So although there are a lot of questions heading into the season for the Bulls, the depth at each position should work itself out. It will be up to the new and inexperienced Vinny del Negro and staff to figure out the roles for this young, promising Bulls team.

These young guys have stepped in and played some great games, and shown flashes of All-Star talent. Joakim Noah came from a college team in which he and the team succeeded year in and year out. In his first season with the Bulls he lashed out at teammates who dogged it during games, and weren’t always into the game in his opinion. Noah had a point, but as a rookie in the NBA this was not his role. This was the role of veteran players such as Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng or Andres Nocioni, who is by far the most mature of the group. Nocioni is a quiet player, who leads by example. He plays each game with 110% effort and never backs down to a defender.

This year the Bulls have a true point guard in Derrick Rose. Although still a young man, at 19 years old, he has the poise to become an All-Star and a leader of this team for years. Rose, a Chicago native, grew up watching the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. Those teams were obviously lead by Michael Jordan, but always had a premiere court general in players such as BJ Armstrong, John Paxson and Steve Kerr. This year the young group of ball players should look to take over the torch. Gordon and Deng are having contract issues, which may lead to them being traded before the season, before the trade deadline or lost via free agency following the season. And Kirk Hinrich is coming of arguably his worst professional season.

The athleticism of this young group is similar to that of the New Orleans Hornets, who finished with the fourth best record last season. The talent, and production of Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and David West may soon be compared to Derrick Rose, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. With players such as Tabo Sefolosha and Andres Nocioni there for the pass out for jumpers.

This team has the make-up to run up and down the court and tire opposing teams out with their speed, athleticism, and deep roster. The Bulls have 7 guys who can currently play the guard position, 4 who can play the small forward, and 5 who can play center or power forward. This allows Vinny Del Negro with plenty of substitution possibilites to keep the bodies on the court fresh.

Just imagine this for a second…

“Joakim Noah with the block.. ball recovered by Andres Nocioni who outlets to Derrick Rose.. Rose hurries the ball up the court and the Bulls have numbers with Tyrus Thomas running down the lane.. Rose sees Thomas, Rose tosses one up to Thomas, Thomas slams one down!”

• Derrick Rose
• Tyrus Thomas
• Joakim Noah
• Arron Gray
• JamesOn Curry
• Cedric Simmons
• Demetris Nichols

There are more on the team, but these are the players most of you will be framiliar with.

Game one was against the Heat, and the Bulls dropped it 94-70. Four Bulls finished in double digits, including Derrick Rose who scored 10 points. Tyrus Thomas also recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Michael Beasley tore things up for the Heat though. Beasley scored 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Beasley enters an easier role with the Heat than Rose does with the Bulls. Rose is taking over as the leader of a team, while Beasley is becoming another piece to a puzzle a few years removed from a championship title.

The Bulls will play five games in five days, the next game is tomorrow, Tuesday July 8th, against the Indiana Pacers.

Negro played for several teams during his 14 year NBA career. Negro was drafted by the Kings in 1988 and retired as a Sun in 2002. He also spent two years from 1990-92 playing in Europe. Negro was a point gaurd/shooting gaurd during is playing career.

The hiring of Negro offers a few questions and maybe a glimpse into the future on what the Bulls off-season still has to come.

The Bulls have several young big men on their roster with potential such as Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Arron Gray. Adding another big man, such as Michael Beasley, would create a jam at the position. Also, would you really want a former journey man point guard like Negro mentoring a 19 year old forward?

This leaves the other option with the number one pick, a point guard from Chicago. Derrick Rose is a point guard with tons of athelticism and can shot the ball. Rose also has plenty of height for the position at 6 feet 4 inches. Sounds kind of like the point guard/shooting guard head coach? Rose would be the perfect fit the Bulls offense, and for what Negro’s plan may be. Negro played for five different NBA teams and two different teams in Europe. Negro should have plenty of experience with differnt offenses and should be able to put together a game plan that will fit the young bunch of players on the Bulls roster.

Although the Bulls have not made any noise to who they will draft next week other than Rose and Beasley being the final two, the hiring of Vinny Del Negro may translate into the drafting of Derrick Rose.