The Chicago Bulls may officially have six rookies on their roster, but they may actually have more depending on your perspective.

Refering to the seven foot duo of Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, who for three years have been labelled the future of the franchise, coach Scott Skiles said "we have a couple of guys who aren't rookies on paper who still play like rookies."

The lack of faith in the duo - neither of which were offered an extension by the Bulls - doesn't stop their either, with GM John Paxson also struggling to remain optimistic.

"We still don't have that identifiable difference-maker on our team," Paxson said. "We've been hoping that Tyson and Eddy step up in that area. They've shown glimpses. But in this business, you have to be consistent. Until we have that difference-maker, we're going to be a young team."

Curry will miss the first two games of the year while serving a suspension handed down by the league, while Chandler once again is sore after surviving a scary fall in last Wednesday's exhibition finale against Indiana.

"It's going to be sore for a while," Chandler said. "When I try to jump off that [right] leg, sometimes it grabs and hurts and locks up. I thought it'd be better. I expect it to gradually get better as the week goes on."