Blogs.Bulls.com

By Adam Fluck

Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Lindsey Hunter have been named team captions for the 2009-10 season. The players voted over the weekend and an announcement was made on Monday.

Of the three, Deng is the only projected starter. He was also a captain last season. Hinrich, however, has been elected captain in six of his seven NBA seasons.

In his 17th season as a pro, not much is expected of Hunter from a statistical standpoint, but his contributions to the team are significant, serving as a mentor for Derrick Rose and the team’s other young players.

Radio broadcast changes; home games start time

Due to a scheduling conflict, the Bulls regular season opener this Thursday, Oct. 29 vs. the San Antonio Spurs (7:00 p.m. on TNT) will now air on WLS 890 AM radio.

In addition, Chicago’s road game on Sunday, Nov. 1 against the Miami Heat will air on WGN 720 AM. Both games were originally scheduled to air on ESPN Radio 1000, but conflict with ESPN Radio’s broadcast of the 2009 World Series.

All other games this season will be broadcast on the Bulls flagship station, ESPN Radio 1000. For the latest on Bulls radio, visit Bulls.com/radio.

This season, all Bulls home games will tip off at 7:00 p.m.

Bulls exercise options on Rose and Noah

The Bulls have picked up the options for the 2010-11 season for guard Derrick Rose and forward/center Joakim Noah. By exercising the respective player options, both players will be under contract next season.

Ranking the Bulls

Two power rankings of note—one from ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and the other from Sam Smith—were posted on Monday with the NBA’s regular season getting underway on Tuesday. Both project Chicago to be the fifth best team in the Eastern Conference.

“Maybe we expect too much to peg Deng for a seamless return from injury to replace Ben Gordon, but there's enough here regardless for modest improvement leading into the pivotal summer of 2010. More than enough,” writes Stein.

“They didn’t do much, and lost their leading scorer,” said Smith. “But there is much more continuity from the opening of last season with the likes of Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes in key roles and still winning 41 games. Derrick Rose has to be healthy and playing at a high level, of course. They should have Luol Deng all season, a bigger team, and a more committed Joakim Noah and motivated Tyrus Thomas to give them a good shot blocking threat and thus better defense. And then the idea is to add an All-Star in free agency and make 2011 the year to compete. Yes, more ifs. But they seem headed on the right path.”