Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason | Roster
Last year: 15-67, eighth in Central, 15th in conference
Coach/VP: Tim Floyd/Jerry Krause
Arena, first game: United Center (21,711); Nov. 4, 1994
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 1,492-1,345/6
Notable: Bad, yes, but still second in league in attendance

THE ROTATION
Pos	Player	Key Stat	Skinny
PG	Greg Anthony	.383 FG	At least he's durable and defends
SG	Ron Mercer	19.7 ppg	With Brand gone, should score a bit more
SF	Eddie Robinson	.531 FG	Raw game, but ability to score 15 a night
PF	Charles Oakley	9.6 ppg	Brings toughness, ferocity, boards
C	Brad Miller	8.9 ppg	Should be better than last year; only 25
6th	Marcus Fizer	9.5 ppg	This is his chance to show he's no bust
7th	Fred Hoiberg	1.32 spg	Don't laugh, Mayor hit 103 threes
8th	Eddy Curry	rookie	He and Tyson Chandler will be brought along slowly

		The Bulls have a few quality young players. First-round draft picks Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler will develop into good players, but it probably won't happen this year. The Bulls should be a little better, though. Greg Anthony will help them in the backcourt. Ron Mercer is a solid player; Charles Oakley, while at the end of his career, is a good player; and Eddie Robinson will give them a lift. But the Bulls aren't going anywhere. They have to spoon-feed the young players and bring them along as quickly as they can because both of them are talented. It will take time.

By Jeffrey Denberg
Special to ESPN.com

A Bulls insider glanced at his team's roster, its recent record of failure and his coach's standing as the worst three-year start in the history of the NBA.

Said he: "We're three years away from being three years away."

On the other hand, when hit by the news that ESPN Insider forecast an eight-win season for the Bulls, coach Tim Floyd flared his nostrils and guaranteed at least nine.

What's going on here in the land of the teenage multimillionaire? The Bulls are going to be a fun team to watch, unless a prolonged slump (or three) drags them down and kills off the will power of the kids.

Who's Who
Coming off another disastrous season, you would hardly know these Bulls without a lineup card. We've got Charles Oakley at the four, fresh from his tour in Toronto where his denunciation of Lenny Wilkens bought a ticket back to his first NBA team. At the point we've got Greg Anthony, who lied to the Hawks a year ago to get more money from Portland, then bolted to Chicago so he could play for a team that will be lucky to match the Hawks' 27 victories of 2000-01. Eddie Robinson, bottled energy that uncorks with the opening tap, let Charlotte's Bob Bass know what he could do with a low-ball offer. He jumped ship. Brad Miller only looks like another person because he is slimmed down and destined to be the center ahead of a couple of very mechanical Euro-muggers. And that leaves Merciless Ron Mercer returning as the designated shooter. Now that's for today. For tomorrow, the Bulls have a couple of budding teen idols; Tyson Chandler, whose body resembles a young Artis Gilmore and whose flexibility speaks of future greatness, and Eddy Curry, who needs a couple of years in the weight room before he has a true coming out party. Yes, it's entirely possible, Krause actually knew what he was doing last summer. If he makes the cut, Kevin Ollie is a very serviceable spare point guard.

	FANTASY SLEEPER
	Eddie Robinson, SF -- With Tracy McGrady-like athletic ability, it's no wonder that not playing high school ball has hardly been a hindrance for Robinson. The Bulls bought into Robinson's emerging potential for five years and $32 million. He'll start, he'll get 30-plus minutes a night and he'll be a top 20 fantasy small forward.

The Big Question
Can the Bulls deal with the losses of two very bright young players? Jamal Crawford tore an ACL and is done for the year. Immature as a 20-year-old rookie Crawford must adhere to a strict rehab program if he's going to make it back all the way and the word is that his rebellious nature has not been tamed by injury. Of more immediate concern, but of shorter term, forward Ron Artest had surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right ring finger and won't be back until after Thanksgiving. Without the firepower of these young veterans the Bulls are going to go to extremes? Play the kiddies or play the old guys and with Anthony pushing 34 and Oakley creeping up on 38 there is a lot of mileage on these two old guys. Floyd, in an off-handed way, already expressed concern that the Oak will go ballistic if the Bulls go belly up early.

Best/Worst Case Scenario
Okay, the Bulls, in case you were wondering, are not getting back to the playoffs this season. Will they crack 20 wins? 25? 30? Hmmmmmm. Not impossible. Say the rooks come along, Oakley keeps the guys focused and Robinson, Miller and Mercer get some help from Fizer, whose body carries more graffiti than a subway train coming out of Brooklyn. If Detroit and Cleveland are as bad as their rosters suggest, yeah, the Bulls could win up to 30 games. But if doubt creeps in, if the fans desert the Bullies and it appears Floyd is losing his group, well this could turn out to be another disastrous season in Chicago. Worse, it would set the young guys back and it might be three more years before they can launch a three-year plan.

OVERRATED	UNDERRATED	TEAM MVP
Greg Anthony. Are the Bulls expecting any offense from him?	Fred Hoiberg. Give him 25-30 minutes a night and you have a very nice role player.	Ron Mercer. He found the right place to score his points.