Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has insisted that the Indiana Pacers are not rivals to his team ahead of the new season.

The Pacers were beaten in the Eastern Conference finals by the Miami Heat last season but Rose believes that the Bulls should not see the team as a direct threat to their hopes this campaign.

"People say that it's a rivalry, but I don't really see it," Rose told ESPN. "I say the team that is more like a rivalry is when Darren Collison was on the team.

"That one was more like a rivalry, but this team is a great team. They've already proven themselves last year by making it to the Eastern Conference finals.

"Then they end up going different ways, picking up different guys, and I think this team, I think in the next year or two, if both teams have the same teams, then that's when it would become a rivalry."

Rose recently returned to the court following a lengthy absence due to a knee injury.