Marquis

Teague

Teague also committed six turnovers and had just one assist in over 30 minutes of action. “I had a rough game,” he said. “I’m ready to bounce back Wednesday.” We’re not concerned, and we believe Teague will be a lot better than he showed in his first action.

“I’m about to get it figured out when I go back,” Teague said. “We just pretty much came up with something. So as soon as I go back to Chicago, it’ll be done.” As we previously said, we never expected Teague and the Bulls to be unable to clear this hurdle, and it sounds like the final 2012 first-round pick without a contract will have one shortly.

Derrick Rose could miss the whole season after knee surgery and the Bulls decided to get another backup in place. He’s slated to play behind C.J. Watson and John Lucas, assuming they’re both back with the Bulls. He’s quick and athletic, but currently lacks an NBA jumper, which could be an issue.

Derrick Rose might not return until March, and rookie Marquis Teague probably isn’t ready for heavy minutes, meaning Nate should see plenty of action backing up Kirk Hinrich at PG for a few months. In 23 minutes per game last season, he averaged 11.2 points, 1.3 threes, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals.

“That’s the closest thing to death, the closest to death I’ve got to right there, where it just seemed like the wind and everything was taken out [of me],” Rose said. Clearly impacted by the injury, Rose is trying to stay positive as he continues to work his way back from surgery. “The injury could have been way worse,” Rose added. Given that he’s unlikely to return until March of 2013, there isn’t much appeal here for owners in re-draft leagues.

The potential reason Teague has not signed yet is due to money. Normally, teams pay 120 percent of the pay scale the NBA suggests to all rookies drafted in the first round, but because the team is hard capped at $74.3 million, the team wants to retain some financial flexibility. Signing Teague for 120 percent of the suggested scale would give the Bulls less than $600,000 remaining this season. We expect the Bulls to eventually come to terms with Teague and the for the issue to blow over.

Robinson will help fill the void left by Derrick Rose’s knee injury that will keep him out of most of the upcoming season. It looks like Kirk Hinrich is the favorite to win the starting point guard job, but Robinson should see plenty of minutes off the bench, helping to back up both guard positions. This is bad news for rookie Marquis Teague, who will be behind Hinrich and Robinson on the depth chart.

Watson has a $3.2 million team option and the deadline for the team to bring him back (or let him go) is July 10. The Bulls, who also inquired about Chauncey Billups, might be ready to let Watson walk if they can land Hinrich or another combo guard they consider an upgrade over Watson. John Lucas isn’t likely to return as an unrestricted free agent, while the only other point guard on the roster is Marquis Teague.

Reinsdorf was forthright when explaining Rose’s timetable. “The doctors told us that it would be eight to 12 months from the time of the surgery,” he said. “Surgery was the middle of May. That means the earliest possible time he’ll be back would be the middle of January. If it’s 12 months, then he’ll miss the whole season. We just don’t know. The reports are very good. They say he’s ahead of schedule.” For however long he’s out, the Bulls will lean on guards Kirk Hinrich, Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague.

Finally, the lone unsigned first-rounder has agreed to a contract. “It feels good to finally get it out of the way,” he said. Teague wound up signing for 100 percent of his slotted salary for the first year of his deal, but the remaining years will be slotted at 120 percent.