Derrick Rose is expected to be a fixture on the bench of the Chicago Bulls in their upcoming road trip as reports noted that the injured superstar is doing great in his rehab.
ESPN Chicago reported that Rose, who is recovering from a surgery that repaired a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, is now off his crutches and head coach Tom Thibodeau revealed that the former Most Valuable Player is in good spirits despite suffering another devastating setback this season.
"The crutches are gone," said coach Thibodeau, who missed the entire 2012-13 NBA season while recovering an ACL injury. "He's been moving around a lot better. So, it's time."
While Rose previously said that he could consider returning in time for the playoffs if he sees the need to, but sources within the organization hinted that their executives have already made a decision of not playing Rose this season to make him ready for next season's grind.
But whether or not Rose will make a comeback later this season, his Bulls teammates said that having Rose on their bench is enough to give them a much-needed boost in their bid to make the playoffs this season.
"It's a good sign," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "He's walking -- just that alone is a good sign, showing that his improvement and his strength and conditioning is kicking in and it's going at the right time and the right speed."
When Rose returns to the lineup sometime this year, the 25-year-old point guard is expected to have a bigger leadership role on his shoulder after the Bulls traded veteran forward Luol Deng, who has been a vocal leader to their younger guys in the past few seasons.
It is still unclear as of now what kind of team the Bulls will be when Rose is finally ready to make his comeback as recent reports suggested that the Bulls are not yet done dealing.
Sources said that the Bulls could also consider trading Joakim Noah before the deadline, along with veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich, who is getting interests from at least two teams. The Bulls could also eventually decide to part ways with Boozer later in the season via their one-time amnesty privilege.
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