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What egos? So far, so good with the Bulls’ ‘Three Alphas’

“At guard, from Chicago …”

I bet Derrick Rose is the name you’re saying in your head right now. That’s how the former Bulls guard was introduced before games at the United Center.

This season, that intro belongs to Dwyane Wade. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that there is a new sheriff in town.

Check that, Wade is one of three sheriffs.

“The Three Alphas,” as new Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo charmingly dubbed them, are made up of two of the NBA’s biggest names in Wade and Rondo, alongside Jimmy Butler, fresh off winning a gold medal in Rio.

This backcourt combo has left fans wondering what to expect. I can put Bulls fans’ minds at ease: the “Alphas” have an understanding of each other’s roles already, and the regular season still is a little over a week away.

After only a few preseason games, the chemistry between these three is visible. The importance they’ve placed on defense and communication is vocalized often. In fact, coach Fred Hoiberg has expressed that Wade has permission to step in and speak up at practice if the team’s effort isn’t where it needs to be.

“It’s great to play alongside a guy who also takes pride in defense, which is Jimmy and D-Wade,” Rondo said. “That’s going to be our main focus, us three setting the tone every game. It starts with the point guard along with Jimmy and Dwyane, that’s what we’re going to hang our hat on, defense.”

What was a team built on defense during the Tom Thibodeau era crumbled last season in Hoiberg’s first year. The Bulls surrendered 103.1 points per game last year, ranking 16th in the league.

To remedy that, the team has worked harder than last year’s Bulls at this point—Hoiberg didn’t give the players a day off from training camp until after their first preseason win, which they notched Oct. 8.

If defense is going to be one identity of this “Alpha” unit, another will be leadership. With all the talk of egos and whether NBA superstars can blend cohesively, the fact that Wade and Rondo have championship experience seems underplayed.

“You talk about last year, but at the same time, last year doesn’t matter,” Wade said. “We have a different core, and I think our culture is fairly different. We have guys now—Rondo’s won a championship, I’ve won championships—we demand respect on the court. But we’ve got a lot of young guys as well, so they’ll listen. We’re not a team with a lot of veteran guys that are kind of stuck in their ways. They’re all ears, and that’s a good thing for this team right now.”

With Wade and Rondo, leadership is second nature. But how do you lead a guy who has established himself as a dominant force in the league and on the Bulls? That’s what those two players face with Butler; they’ve assured him he’s not being supplanted.

“Me and Rondo coming in, saying that early, it just gives him confidence knowing he didn’t have to worry about taking a step back or anything,” Wade said. “Shaq did the same thing for me when he came to Miami. There’s a mental approach to the game from him saying those words to me, allowing me to go and play my game.”

So is Wade saying that if he helps Butler flourish, the Bulls will hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in June? Well, no, I don’t think that’s it. But Bulls fans can rest easy knowing the dynamic among these three stars isn’t as harrowing as preseason chatter might have led us to believe.

“Like I always say, when you put good basketball players out there on the floor, you just go,” Butler said. “Everything just falls into place, falls into line. You don’t have to worry about too much of anything. Everybody wants to win. No one has their own personal agenda. Everybody has bought into this team, everybody is listening to everybody, and if you have something to say, everybody is going to give you the opportunity to speak.”

Wade in a No. 3 Bulls jersey (he still hasn’t given Doug McDermott anything for this jersey exchange, by the way) and Rondo at starting point guard instead of Rose is going take some getting used to.

Yet a team whose ability to communicate and lead each other already is front and center. It leaves us with more hope than last year’s squad, and it’s only October.

Annie Costabile is a RedEye contributor. @anniecostabile