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Tom Thibodeau took the floor, coaching gruff, bellowing his trademark barks throughout an early September training session. Thibs was always barking at his Bulls. Just as he's still barking at today's Knicks.

Not that intense coaching was going to trouble the 33-year forward who had just gotten to Chicago. Mike Dunleavy was a coach's son. He knew what preseason yelling sounded and felt like.

Lunch — not Thibs — is what made Chicago's new veteran signee double-take for the first time as a Bull. Having just arrived to his fourth NBA team, Dunleavy was among a group of fellow offseason acquisitions, along with several young players, who had been shepherded to a restaurant near the team's practice facility by a Bulls staffer. Pleasantries were exchanged. Team bonding began. Then when the Bulls' server started making the rounds to take down orders, their natural flow of starting salads and appetizers was interrupted by a bruising third-year swingman from Marquette who was primed for a starting role in that 2013-14 season.

"I'll have a cheesecake," Jimmy Butler said.

The table laughed. Dunleavy huffed with curiosity.

"OK," he said. "What's that all about?"