Speaking calmly yet passionately and without rancor or even a hint of unprofessionalism, Tyrus Thomas eloquently detailed why he should be the Bulls' starting power forward.

Which meant, of course, that Thomas wasn't Monday night at the United Center as the Bulls fell to Orlando 101-98 in their next-to-last exhibition game.

"I don't even think it should be questionable from what I've contributed to this team last season and what I did throughout camp," Thomas said. "But ( Vinny Del Negro's) the guy who makes the decisions. Whatever decision he makes, I have to go play."

Del Negro downplayed his surprising decision to start rookie Taj Gibson over Thomas, who returned from missing four games with a sore right hip on Friday and dropped a monstrous 22-point, 13-rebound effort on Minnesota.

Thomas finished with 10 points and three rebounds against the Magic.

John Salmons' 19 points led the Bulls. Gibson also had 10 points and three rebounds.

"I want (Thomas) to get some practice in," Del Negro said. "It's nothing. Taj has worked hard and played well. He's young. We're just trying to get him as much experience as we can. That's all.

"But all positions are up for grabs. Tyrus missed a lot of time. We got into a little routine. I just want to stay with it right now. We have a lot of practice time before we play on Friday and then a lot of practice before (Oct. 29) Opening Night. Don't read anything into that."

It's kind of hard not to, which is why Thomas fielded a question as to whether the move could be seen as motivational.

"I think that was more Scott Skiles' deal my rookie year," Thomas said. "I'm a veteran now. I know what I have to do to be a better player and help my team win. If it is a motivational factor, it's not needed."

Thomas said his hip feels fine and that he was "a little bit" surprised to come off the bench when healthy. Preseason or not, starting matters to him.

"I care because I'm a competitor," he said. "I like to win regardless of preseason or not. I feel I've put my time in with this team. I feel I worked and did the things I needed to do to solidify that.

"Nothing against Taj. He's been playing great. But (Friday's game) showed things I'm capable of doing"

Asked to assess his game, Thomas called himself an "impact player" and a "game changer."

Orlando took the lead for good on Ryan Anderson's three-pointer with 39.9 seconds left, then survived a wild finish that included Gibson losing a jump ball for the Bulls' final chance.

From what I've read TT put in a lot of work in the off-season. That's what I want from all of the younger guys on the Bulls. IMO Thomas should start so that he can demonstrate that he actually has improved and matured. If he looks as clueless as he has in the past then I don't have a problem with benching him. I just don't see the point of creating a controversy before the regular season even begins...particularly when the coach is credibility challenged as well.

Tyrus Thomas should be starting to look at housing options in European cities with basketball teams.

vinny del negro is a complete dumbass. Frankly, whatever decision he makes will almost certainly be the wrong one