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NEWARK -- New Jersey Nets guard Keith Bogans admitted that he felt disrespected by the way his former team, the Chicago Bulls, handled the end of his tenure in Chicago. Bogans, who started every game for the Bulls a season ago, was pulled off the Berto Center floor just before the first official training camp practice on Dec. 9th. The Bulls decided not to pick up the team option they had for him and ended up waiving him a week later.

"Who wouldn't (feel disrespected)?" he said before Monday night's game against his former team. "We're all men first, man. We're men before basketball players. I don't want to say the wrong thing so I'm going to be quiet and let it go. Don't even ask no more about that."

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CHICAGO -- When Chicago Bulls GM Gar Forman signed Rip Hamilton just before the season started, it was a game like Monday night's 110-95 win over the New Jersey Nets that he envisioned in his head.

Playing without Luol Deng, Hamilton racked up a huge stat line, scoring 22 points, dishing out 10 assists and logging 42 minutes in the win, during which he recorded his 15,000th career point. While the numbers were certainly nice, it was his playmaking ability that caught his teammates' attention.

"He passes better than I do," Bulls point guard Derrick Rose said with a laugh. "So he's definitely going to help us."

Hamilton proved yet again on this night that, when healthy, he has the ability and experience to be the piece the Bulls appeared to be missing last season at the two guard position. He sees lanes on the floor that no one else sees and he has the ability to make passes that most players his size can't make. Hamilton has the rare ability to get all of his teammates involved in the game.

"It makes my job easier," Rose said. "Knowing that he's a shooting guard and he's got nine assists, five assists, six assists a game. It makes my job easier."

Seeing that quote from the Bulls' best player makes the investment in Hamilton seem even smarter.

Yes, he was brought in to score and be a focal point of the Bulls' offense, but he was also brought in for his championship experience and his ability to communicate with his young teammates.

"He's just such a vet," Bulls center Joakim Noah said. "You can just tell he's been playing this style, his game, for a long time. It looks like it hasn't changed one bit. He demands a lot of attention. And he's opening up the floor for a lot of players."

After spending two miserable years in Detroit, Hamilton is clearly enjoying his role in Chicago. He knows the Bulls have the ability to win a championship this year, and he also realizes that he will probably have to take a bigger role in the offense if Luol Deng is going to be out for a while because of a wrist injury.

"With me, it's not all about scoring," Hamilton said. "There's so many great players on this team. My job is to try and make everybody's job easy. If it's scoring, if it's passing, or whatever, that's what I try to do."

Hamilton's image took a hit during those last seasons in Detroit and many critics wondered if he would become a locker room cancer with the Bulls. But those fears have been quickly put to rest.

"He's always talking to guys in the locker room about where they can be effective," Noah said. "It just gives everybody confidence."

Everybody, including Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.

"For Rip, it's every aspect of the game,” Thibodeau said. "He gives you great leadership, playmaking ability. Big shot-making ability. And more importantly, he makes the right play. When he is open he shoots and when he is guarded, he makes the right read. If he is double teamed, he knows where the holes are. He makes the game simple. He gets easy shots for people. He runs the floor and he never stops moving. He makes the offense hard to be defended. That becomes contagious."

And that's exactly why his teammates love playing with him so much. They realize that Hamilton has been to the mountaintop before and they want him to help show them the way back. They want Hamilton to fill the void that was so evident during their playoff run last season.

"Rip is a scoring machine," Rose said. "Someone that you have to respect when he's on the floor ... he's definitely going to find everyone. I tell people you've just got to be able to be able to hit open shots when you're playing with him."

That's exactly the kind of thing that Forman wants to hear.

CHICAGO -- The addition of a shooting guard to the Chicago Bulls roster, in all likelihood veteran Richard Hamilton arriving via waivers/free agency this week, would be an unquestioned boon to a team crying out for one.

Derrick Rose found it hard to hide his enthusiasm when he was asked about Hamilton Sunday, saying, "Did we get him yet?" and "I know he'll help us if we get him." And Rose's teammates were equally forthcoming in singing Hamilton's praises.

"I've known Rip since I was 14 years old . . . " said Luol Deng, whose brother played college basketball with Hamilton at Connecticut. "If Rip was to come here, he'd be a great guy in the locker room, a great teammate . . . He's a guy who won the championship [with Detroit]. He's been there, he knows what it takes and I'm sure if he was to join us, he would make us better."

But while focusing on how much the Bulls, and specifically Rose, would benefit from help in the backcourt, the Bulls frontcourt could reveal itself to be the real vulnerability and is actually a bigger concern to the team.

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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Familiar sounds echoed in the Berto Center gym Friday night.

Carlos Boozer hollering, Tom Thibodeau teaching and the squeak-squeak-squeaking of fresh basketball shoes hitting the floor.

For basketball junkies, it was the sound of a season. Think Dr. Dre's long-awaited "Detox" album in high-tops.

While the confusing after-effects of the lockout and the ugliness of the Chris Paul situation resonated around the league, it was a business-like jam session on Day 1 for the Chicago Bulls, which return mostly intact from last year's 62-win team.

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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls guard Ronnie Brewer has heard all the speculation about who his team is going to add at the two-guard position in free agency. He just wants people to remember that no matter who Bulls general manager Gar Forman decides to add, they will have to have to beat him for the spot.

A year after dealing with a nagging hamstring injury during training camp, Brewer says he is feeling good and is ready to take over the starting two guard role from Keith Bogans, or whomever else the Bulls bring in.

"I think Keith did a phenomenal job, and I felt like I did pretty good with the role I had," Brewer said Friday afternoon. "But now no matter who they bring in, or if they bring Keith back, it's going to be a fight in training camp. We're going to push each other and make each other better at that two spot."

Brewer said he would be comfortable if Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau decided to have him come off the bench again, but as he mentioned over the summer, he wants the chance to start.

"Whatever we've got to do to win, I'm all about that," Brewer said. "But me as a player, I've got to do everything I possibly can to put myself in a situation where I can go out there and contribute.

"If that's in a starting role, if that's coming off the bench, I can't let that stuff stop me from what I've got to do to be better and to help this team so that's why I come in every day and I work as hard as I possibly can. If my number's called, I'm going to be ready and I feel like Thibs can count on me whenever and feel confident whenever he puts me in the game."

Like the rest of his teammates, Brewer says the Bulls only have one goal on their mind this season, but he realizes that in order to attain that goal the Bulls will most likely have to find a way to get past the Miami Heat.

"Our goal to start the season is [to] win a championship," Brewer said. "You know you're going to have to go through [Miami], those guys are going to be there. The Celtics are going to be there, the Hawks, the Magic. It's a lot of great teams. We're just trying to take it one game at a time and when that time comes, we're definitely going to be prepared and ready. And try to make a different result as last year."

Brewer thinks the Bulls have a slight advantage over teams given that their core will be back in place to start the season.

"I think it's pretty good and pretty neat that we have a good group of core guys on our team already," he said. "By the end of this weekend, you're going to have almost everybody back in town working out together. I think that's always helpful, especially with how quick it's going to be from [the start of] training camp to the first game on Christmas. I know when we get back going, Thibs is going to push us pretty hard and get us prepared for our first game."

With a shortened season, Brewer knows that Thibodeau will put even more important on each contest.

"Sixty-six games is better than zero, so I'll take however many games it is as long as we're able to play," he said. "And I think it just heightens the level of every game. Every game is important to get a spot up on your division. A spot in your conference and I think the intensity level is going to raise a little bit higher because instead of having 82 games and dropping a game here or there and not making it important, I think every game is going to be important, especially with so much talent that's in the Eastern Conference."

In the meantime, Brewer is just happy to be back at the Berto Center seeing familiar faces. As he began his session with the media, Thibodeau walked out of another door. Brewer had to chuckle.

"I'm going to put my head down when he comes," Brewer said.

Like the rest of the NBA, Brewer is happy to be back at work.

"I think it's a huge stress relief," he said. "I think a lot of guys were worried that the season was in danger of being canceled. A lot of guys had a lot of question marks. But we got a deal done. We get back to work. I think guys are coming early to get ahead of the curve and we're all looking forward to working and having a successful season."