20-year old Derrick Rose just scratched the surface of his potential last season. He played in 81 games for the Bulls last year and he averaged 37.0 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. I look for all of Rose’s numbers to improve this season except maybe the minutes as the Bulls won’t want to burn him out. Rose will make a huge push to be a All-Star this season for the Bulls. 29-year old Jannero Pargo will likely be the backup to Rose. He last played during the 2007-08 season with the Hornets so he could be rusty when the season starts. He has played in 316 games in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.2 minutes, 6.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. 38-year old Lindsey Hunter is back again as he will serve as a defensive specialist. Hunter played in 28 games for the Bulls last season and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 2.6 points, 0.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Now if anything were to happen that would keep Rose out of action for a while the Bulls would no doubt start Kirk Hinrich if they still have him around.

PROJECTED POSITION GRADE FOR THE 2009-2010 NBA SEASON: B+