If the Bulls' internal debate on draft night had swung differently — and opinion was quite divided — Jimmy Butler would have been wearing Celtics green and Kris Dunn would have been running point on a tear-it-to-the-foundation Bulls' rebuild Thursday night.

Instead, the Bulls kept Butler's two-way All-Star talents in Chicago, Dunn landed in Minnesota and the Bulls unexpectedly made one of the offseason's biggest free-agent splashes in signing Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.

General manager Gar Forman opted to call it a retool.

And the experiment in which 10 of the 15 Bulls are new began with a 105-99 victory over the Celtics at the United Center. The Bulls, who were led by Jimmy Butler's 24 points, Taj Gibson's 10 rebounds and Rondo's nine assists, improved to 29-22 all-time in openers, including 17-10 at home.

Buckle up. This promises to be quite the ride.

“We don't have a jinx,” Wade said, responding to a question about the Cubs. “I'm looking at banners.”

He meant the dynasty and nobody is expecting that. But a franchise that executive vice president John Paxson said lacked collective fight last season played with spirit and passion and pace. Butler even got into a mini-skirmish with fellow Marquette product Jae Crowder. Rondo and Isaiah Thomas joined the fray for a set of double technical fouls.

After all the talk about a lack of 3-point shooting and floor spacing, the Bulls connected on 11-for-25 (44 percent) from beyond the arc, including 50 percent while scoring 57 first-half points. Butler tiedhis career-high with four on six attempts.

Wade also sank 4 of 6 from beyond the arc after making just seven 3-pointers all last season. The career 28.4 percent shooter from 3-point range called Fred Hoiberg his “shooting coach.” The two have worked extensively in post-practice sessions on Wade's footwork.

Wade even took a practice 3-pointer as officials separated the aforementioned scrum.

“I don't want to fall in love with it,” said Wade, who had 22 points. “I want to be great at what I'm great at. But I also want to be able to knock down a shot and feel comfortable. I have a good opportunity here to shoot with my coach, who was a very good shooter, and he has taught me some things that I've never thought about. And that allowed me in camp to be a little more comfortable.

“And a lot of it is catch-and-shoot. I've shot a lot of pull-up 3s, I haven't shot a lot of catch-and-shoot 3s. So it has been cool.”

The Bulls crushed the Celtics on the glass, enjoying a 55-33 rebounding advantage.

The slow starts from the preseason were a thing of the past as Wade, Rondo and Butler each sank a 3-pointer in a 30-point opening stanza.

Hoiberg continued his practice of pulling Wade roughly midway through the first quarter and then bringing him back to finish the quarter before starting the second with the second unit. Wade essentially played point guard in this lineup.

“You just kind of read the game,” Wade said. “I always want to have an aggressive mindset. That doesn't always relate to shot attempts. It just relates to being aggressive when the ball touches your hand.”