Carlos Boozer thinking big

Chicago Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer has lofty expectations for his new team this season.

"A championship," he told ESPNChicago.com on Wednesday night after a Nike House of Hoops event. "I think a realistic goal for us is a championship. I think anything shorter than that we're setting ourselves up to be shorter than what we can reach. I think [we have] potential to be a championship-level team."

One of the reasons Boozer feels so confident is due to the fact that he gets to play with the Bulls' 21-year-old All-Star point guard, Derrick Rose.

"He's tight," Boozer said. "He can play. With our combination of what we have on our team, with myself in the post, with D. Rose at the point guard spot, Joakim [Noah] plugging that middle up, Luol Deng being very versatile on the wing, I think we have a team that can rival anybody. I think we'll be able to compete against every team in the league."

When it comes to Rose's progression specifically, Boozer isn't surprised at all that his new teammate is succeeding under the tutelage of his former college coach at Duke and current Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"I think [Rose] went out there and made that team, proved to be the starter for that team," Boozer said. "Coach K loves him, of course, and they've been able to compete and have a chance to win. I think they're a game or two away from winning the gold and hopefully they can bring it back for us."