Tom Thibodeau On Derrick Rose Injury: 'So Unfair'
By Cody Westerlund-
(CBS) Speaking a day after news broke that Derrick Rose has encountered his third major knee injury in three years and will need to undergo surgery, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau paused for a second while reflecting on all his point guard has been through.
"I don't know what to say other than it's so unfair," Thibodeau said.
Rose has a tear in his right medial meniscus, the Bulls announced late Tuesday. As of late Wednesday morning, surgery hadn't been scheduled, and a timeline for his return won't be known until after the procedure, Thibodeau said.
There remains feint hope that Rose could return for the playoffs if he has the meniscus removed instead of repaired, but Thibodeau hadn't even entertained any thoughts of that in the 14 hours since the news broke.
Rose also tore his right medial meniscus in November 2013 and missed the remainder of the 2013-'14 season. He tore his left ACL in April 2012 and missed the entirety of the 2012-'13 season.
"We don't even want to jump ahead like that," Thibodeau said regarding talk of a possible return. "The big thing is to just take it step by step. We just got the news, and first and foremost is Derrick and our concern for him.
"The guy's been through so much, what he's put into it. And this one – anytime you have surgery, it's tough – but this will hopefully be much shorter than the other ones. But the big thing is our concern for him first as a person."
The Bulls don't know when Rose's injury happened, Thibodeau said. He reported discomfort in the knee at Tuesday's practice, and an MRI confirmed the tear later in the day.
Rose scored eight points on 1-of-13 shooting in a win against the Bucks on Monday night. He played 32 minutes, 55 seconds. With the Bulls holding an 18-point lead with 5:05 left, Rose checked back in and played until 1:36 remained. In a postgame interview, he was in good spirits and didn't mention any pain.
After suffering the meniscus tear in November 2013, Rose and his camp opted to have the tear repaired, which features a longer recovery timeline than removing it but provides better long-term stability for the knee, on and off the court. After that surgery, the Bulls understood there was always the possibility he'd have to be operated on again.
"He's been through a lot," Thibodeau said. "He's had to endure a lot. And he's gotten past a lot. It's disappointing news. We're hopeful that everything will work out fine. Initially, the last procedure he had on the meniscus, we knew this was a possibility. And so unfortunately, it didn't take, and now they have to go back in and take care of it. We knew that could happen, and it did. Our concern is with Derrick, and I think you guys all know how we feel about him – our organization, our players."
At least outwardly, Thibodeau remained confident that Rose can return and be a successful player, stressing Rose will be helped by the mental toughness he's developed.
"That's what makes him who he is," Thibodeau said. "He's got great mental toughness. He's gotten past a lot of hurdles, and this is another one. He'll get past this one too. But it's not an easy thing to deal with."
The Bulls will certainly look outside the organization to add another guard. Asked directly if there's been contact with free agent Nate Robinson – who averaged 13.1 points for Chicago in 2012-'13 – Thibodeau responded generally.
"I'm sure John (Paxson) and Gar (Forman) have a list of guys," Thibodeau said. "I'm sure we'll be hearing from a lot of people. Right now, we're concerned about Derrick and the guys we do have here. I don't know what options we may have. We're always looking at different options anyway. We haven't really discussed anything yet."
The Bulls are currently 36-21, sitting in third in the Eastern Conference. They host the Hornets tonight at the United Center.
In an all-too-familiar development, they'll again be without Rose, who has only played in 95 of Chicago's past 287 regular-season games. Rose has also missed the team's past 22 playoff games.
"Just really feeling for him," Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. "I'm still shocked. I didn't have any idea that he had an injury like that yesterday at practice. Just feel for him. I can't imagine what he's gone through here these last three years. Just when it seemed like he was hitting his stride and playing great, the team felt like he'd put it behind him, for this to happen is just, it's devastating."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
