Derrick Rose

Eastern Notes: Bosh, Beasley, Rose, Love

Chris Bosh is expected to resume full basketball activities next September, the Heat announced. It’s great news for the 30-year-old big man, who admits he initially had doubts he’d ever return to the hardwood when he found out about the blood clots in his lungs, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com details. We’ve got more on the Heat within tonight’s look around the Eastern Conference:

  • Michael Beasley does not feel like he has a roster spot locked up with the Heat despite his recent strong play, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Beasley, who is on his second 10-day contract with the club, is averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds since returning to the NBA after a stint in China. “You’re talking to a No. 2 pick. One of the best players in college basketball — not to toot my own horn. But to go from there to now be on a 10-day is definitely humbling,” Beasley said to Lee. “They always say, it could be gone tomorrow.”
  • Derrick Rose expects to return to the Bulls from his latest knee surgery sometime this season, but he offered no assurances that will happen, Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports. Rose was expected to miss four to six weeks after tearing meniscus in his right knee last month. “Whenever I’m ready to back, I’ll come back,” he said to a contingent of reporters on Monday.
  • Kevin Love may not receive a maximum salary offer from the Cavs, even if he wants to stay with the team next year, Sam Smith of Bulls.com opines. The power forward, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has been mainly employed as a three-point shooter and his averages of 16.9 points and 12.9 shot attempts are his lowest since the 2009/10 season,  notes Smith, who also adds that Love also rode the bench during crunch time against Toronto last week. Love recently expressed his unhappiness about being labelled a stretch four and will have plenty of suitors on the open market.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Monroe, Pistons, Rose

After getting kicked below the belt by  James Harden, LeBron James is predictably none too pleased with the Rockets guard.  “Obviously that’s not a basketball play,” the Cavs star said, according to Joe Vardon of The Plain Dealer. “Obviously the league will probably take a look at it. I have no idea why he would do that, but you know, just two competitors trying to go at it and he won this one.”  Ultimately, it was the Rockets that won the game, 105-103 in overtime.  Here’s more from the Central Division..

  • When asked if client Greg Monroe will consider the Pistons in free agency, agent David Falk responded, “absolutely, absolutely,” David Mayo of MLive.com writes.  Meanwhile, he says that he hasn’t talked free agency with Monroe and only knows that finding the best fit will be the highest consideration.  “Only the media discuss this kind of stuff during the season,” he said. “I don’t ever sit down game to game and take his temperature. It’s like the playoffs — the only thing that matters is where is his head at on July 1? We’ve got a long ways to go before we get there. It’s all speculation and he can change his mind 20 times between now and then. So I leave him alone. There’ll be a time for discussion and that time is not now.”
  • Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy believes in stats and wants to beef up the team’s analytics staff, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. The Pistons were represented by four front-office members at the weekend’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and SVG was a guest in previous years when he was between coaching jobs.
  • Just one day after having a meniscectomy to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, Derrick Rose was back at the Bulls‘ training facility on Saturday beginning his rehab process, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes.  Rose is expected back on the floor within four-to-six weeks.

Derrick Rose To Miss Four To Six Weeks

1:14pm: Rose is “absolutely on board” with playing again this season, as Johnson hears from a source close to the point guard.

10:49am: Rose will be back on the practice floor in “another week,” Forman added, according to Friedell (Twitter link). The regular season ends in less than seven weeks.

FRIDAY, 10:33am: Bulls GM Gar Forman said Rose should be back in four to six weeks after surgery today that Forman deemed a minor procedure, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com.

THURSDAY, 3:54pm: Rose is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday, the team announced in a press release. A timetable for Rose’s return to action will be determined after the procedure is completed. The oft-injured point guard is having his meniscus removed rather than repaired, which should allow for a shorter rehab period.

10:35pm: The belief is that this tear isn’t as extensive as the one that Rose suffered back in November of 2013 on the same knee, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets.

TUESDAY, 9:50pm: Derrick Rose has suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee and will require surgery, the Bulls have announced in a press release. The injury was confirmed by an MRI administered earlier today. This is the same knee that Rose suffered a tear in last season, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). The point guard will require surgery after which a timeline for Rose’s return will be announced by the team.

This is now the third major knee injury that Rose has suffered during his NBA career. He tore the ACL in his left knee during the first game of the 2011/12 playoffs, and required surgery to repair the damage. Rose would go on to miss the entire 2012/13 campaign as he worked his way back from the injury. The 26-year-old made his return to the court during the 2013/14 season, but surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee limited Rose to just 10 appearances that season. All told, Rose has only appeared in a total of 95 contests since the beginning of the 2011/12 campaign.

In 46 appearances this season Rose has averaged 18.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 31.0 minutes per game. Rose’s career numbers through 335 appearances are 20.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 6.5 APG. His career slash line is .453/.306/.815.

Bulls Eye Mike James, Jannero Pargo

11:40am: Chicago no longer plans to fill its open roster spot in the wake of GM Gar Forman‘s declaration today that the team expects Rose back in four to six weeks, Johnson tweets.

9:54am: The Bulls have had preliminary conversations with the representatives for Mike James and Jannero Pargo, league sources tell K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. That’s in addition to exploratory talks with team has held with Nate Robinson, which Shams Charania of RealGM reported earlier this week and which Johnson confirms. Chicago is likely to fill its open roster spot regardless of the timetable for Derrick Rose‘s recovery from his torn meniscus, Johnson writes, though the team won’t necessarily sign a guard, sources told the Tribune scribe. Johnson indicated Thursday that the team’s decision regarding that 15th roster spot would hinge on whether Rose is out for the season.

There’s “considerable optimism” that the tear in Rose’s right meniscus is small, Johnson has heard. If that’s the case and only a small part of the meniscus is trimmed during surgery today, the likely timetable “could” be three to six weeks, according to Johnson. Still, a quick return entails Rose coming back to on-court activity but not necessarily to games, Johnson cautions (Twitter link).

James is certainly no stranger to the Bulls, having signed seven different contracts with the team since January 2012. The 39-year-old point guard is averaging 15.0 points, 6.4 assists and 3.4 turnovers in 33.1 minutes per game for the Mavericks D-League affiliate. James, a client of Bernie Lee, is only two years removed from having finished the season as the starting point guard for the big club in Dallas.

Pargo is another former Bull, having signed with Chicago on five previous occasions, though the Mark Bartelstein client’s last action for the team took place in 2009/10. His health is a question mark, and Hornets coach Steve Clifford said at the beginning of the month that he wasn’t close to being able to play, citing that as the reason Charlotte cut him loose to ink Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract instead in the wake of Kemba Walker‘s injury. The Hornets apparently weren’t ruling out a reunion with Pargo, but that was before the team let go of Elliot Williams to trade for Mo Williams.

The Bulls only have the prorated minimum salary to offer. Still, they’re nowhere close to the luxury tax threshold as they were last year, so they have some financial flexibility.

Central Notes: Jackson, Perkins, Bulls

Reggie Jackson has embraced his new role as the Pistons’ floor leader but he’s not ready to become the leader in the locker room, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. Jackson, who becomes a restricted free agent after the season, was acquired by Detroit from the Thunder at the trade deadline. “It’s hard, it’s really hard,” Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said in the story. “You don’t have a relationship with guys yet. That’s why I think it’s tough for point guards. And yet, as a point guard, you’re expected to organize and lead and everything else. I think it’s a major challenge when you haven’t been with the team all year.” Jackson has already been organizing post-game restaurant outings with teammates, according to Mayo, which is perhaps an indication that he would welcome the opportunity to sign with the club long-term.

In other news around the Central Division:

  • The contract that Kendrick Perkins signed with the Cavs is a minimum-salary affair that runs only until season’s end, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals on his Cavs salary page (Twitter link).
  • The Pistons created two traded player exceptions in the deal for Jackson, Pincus tweets. Along with one worth $1.09MM for Kyle Singler, they also created a $796K exception for D.J. Augustin, according to Pincus. That will give the Pistons more flexibility to make trades this offseason.
  • The mood around the Bulls is glum in the wake of Derrick Rose‘s latest knee surgery, and there’s concern he may not recover mentally after undergoing three knee operations since the 2011/12 playoffs, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. His teammates took the news particularly hard. “Very tough news, unexpected,’’ Pau Gasol said to Chicago beat reporters. “Heartbreaking in a way because of how much he has been through the last couple of years. Difficult to deal with; we feel for him. He’s definitely a key player for us, as well.’’ Even if Rose is able to return this season, it might difficult for him to be effective because of the intensity level of the postseason, Cowley adds.
  • The Bulls could add another player to the roster depending upon the timetable for Rose’s return, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The decision on whether to sign a free agent will hinge on whether Rose is out for the season or not, according to Johnson.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Bulls Have Exploratory Talks With Nate Robinson

The Bulls have engaged in exploratory discussions with Nate Robinson, who’s interested in returning to Chicago, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The team is plotting its course in reaction to Derrick Rose‘s latest injury with some level of hope that Rose will play again this season, Charania adds. Coach Tom Thibodeau cautioned that he likes the team’s roster as constituted and that anyone the Bulls would sign into their open roster spot would be primarily for insurance purposes, as Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relay (Twitter links).

Robinson, who started 23 regular season games and eight playoff contests for an injured Rose in 2012/13, has been a free agent since shortly after negotiating his release from the Celtics in a buyout deal last month, soon after Boston acquired him from Denver via trade. The Clippers and Cavs appeared to have interest in him soon after he came available, but the Clips made him a secondary priority and the Cavs reportedly decided not to pursue him after making a preliminary inquiry. There were conflicting reports regarding interest from the Wizards and Heat.

It’s the second straight year that Rose has turned up with a torn meniscus in his right knee, but there’s growing belief that it’s not as serious this time around, Johnson tweets. Johnson wrote earlier this week that Rose was told after his injury last year that it was possible another tear would occur and that the typical treatment for a second tear would entail a shorter rehab of three to six weeks, but Johnson’s latest story has that timetable at three to eight weeks. The postseason is seven weeks away.

The Bulls would be limited to handing out the minimum salary to Robinson, an Aaron Goodwin client. As long as he remains a free agent, he’d be eligible to take part in the playoffs for Chicago even if he signed on the final day of the regular season.

Eastern Notes: Knight, Thibodeau, Antic

Brandon Knight‘s price tag as a restricted free agent was a good reason for the Bucks to trade him to the Suns, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders believes. Knight will likely receive offer sheets in the range of $13MM-$15.9MM annually this summer after he was unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the club last fall, Duncan adds. Michael Carter-Williams, who was acquired from Philadelphia to take Knight’s spot, is on a rookie contract through the 2016/17 season and has more upside, Duncan opines.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • The acquisition of Carter-Williams could hurt the Bucks in the short run but improves their flexibility this summer, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. The move gives them a young core of Carter-Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, and they have approximately $15MM in salary cap space to make another major move, Gardiner adds.
  • Four-year NBA veteran Daniel Orton has turned down offers from overseas after returning from his stint in the Philippines and is holding out for an NBA deal, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Orton was with the Wizards during preseason.
  • Derrick Rose‘s latest knee injury could lead to Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau’s departure, according to Nancy Armour of USA Today. Thibodeau’s relationship with Bulls management was already strained, Armour reveals, and Rose is one of his most fervent supporters. Losing Rose for perhaps the rest of the season could lead to Thibodeau, who has two years left on his contract, and the team cutting ties, Armour opines.
  • The Hawks will try to re-sign  Pero Antic when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Antic has struggled with his shooting in a reserve role this season, averaging 28.7% on three-point attempts, but that hasn’t changed the Hawks’ thinking, Vivlamore adds.
  • Magic COO Alex Martins says the team will not interview head coaching candidates until after season, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. James Borrego is the interim coach for the remainder of the season after Jacque Vaughn was fired earlier this month.
  • Forest City Enterprises, the Ratner parent company,  confirms it’s looking to sell its shares in Nets and Barclays Center, NetsDaily tweets. Bruce Ratner is a minority owner of the Nets after selling 80% of the club to Mikhail Prokhorov in 2010.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Fallout From Derrick Rose’s Latest Injury

Derrick Rose has a torn meniscus in his right knee for the second season in a row, and while there’s no indication yet of how much time he’ll miss, Chicago’s title hopes seemingly hang in the balance. Here’s the latest on the Bulls as they wait to hear the fate of their point guard:

  • The Bulls are likely to sign another guard into their open roster spot, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Free agent and former Bull Nate Robinson would like to rejoin the team, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears (Twitter link), but it’s unclear if Chicago reciprocates that interest.
  • Rose was informed upon having season-ending surgery to repair his torn meniscus in 2013 that another tear was a possibility but typical treatment would entail a shorter rehab period of three to six weeks, a source said to Johnson for the same story. Still, it’s too soon to tell whether the injury will be season-ending, two sources close to Rose told Chris Mannix of SI.com.
  • The point guard is “the definition of untradeable,” but with a pivotal summer ahead, it might be time for the Bulls to reconsider how they regard the former MVP, Mannix opines in the same piece. Rose is due more than $20.093MM next season and in excess of $21.323MM in 2016/17, the last year of his deal.

‘Melo On Knicks, Bulls, Rockets, Mavs, Lakers

Carmelo Anthony met with the Bulls, Rockets, Mavs and Lakers in addition to the Knicks this summer, but in a forthcoming documentary, he makes it clear that his final decision was between the Knicks and the Bulls, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman obtained a preliminary cut of the film, called “Carmelo Anthony: Made In NY,’’ that’s set to air next week on MSG Network, and Anthony’s statements in the movie demonstrate just how close the high-scoring forward came to wearing red-and-black.

“Chicago was the one from Day 1 [and] was something I was very impressed with,” Anthony said in the film. “They were looking for someone like me to come in and take them to the next level. So it was perfect. It was a perfect setup and perfect fit for me in Chicago. But also I had to think about just living in Chicago. Do I want to live in Chicago? Do I want to take everything I created in New York and move all of that? It came down to that. But there was one point in time I was like — oh, I’m going.’’

Berman shared several other revelations from the documentary in his full-length story, and we’ll summarize them here:

  • ‘Melo’s camp concluded that they’d need to have the Knicks sign-and-trade him to Chicago for him to end up on the Bulls with a max deal, Berman writes. Anthony’s manager, Bay Frazier, said in the documentary that the Bulls could offer a total of only $74MM, according to Berman. There were various hypothetical scenarios in which the Bulls could have opened more flexibility, but it sounds like $74MM was the realistic amount on the table.
  • Anthony spoke of affection for the winning attitude of the Bulls and said that Derrick Rose reached out to recruit him, as Berman details. Rose’s supposed unwillingness to go along with Chicago’s pitch to Anthony was reportedly at the root of tension between the team and its star point guard. “D-Rose is tough. He even hit me [up],” Anthony said. “I’ve been talking to him. Him and [Joakim] Noah. Noah’s more outgoing. But I’m glad we did them first.’’
  • Anthony said he didn’t want to endure the “culture change” that would come with living in Texas and playing for either the Mavs or the Rockets, Berman notes.
  • Kobe Bryant and Anthony have spoken about one day playing together, but the specter of changing teams just to find himself in another rebuilding situation made jumping to the Lakers an unappealing choice, Anthony said in the documentary, as Berman relays.

Eastern Notes: Turner, Sullinger, Bucks

Derrick Rose was held scoreless in Team USA’s 86-63 victory over Mexico, but Bulls head coach and Team USA assistant Tom Thibodeau wasn’t the least bit concerned, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. Of Rose’s progress, Thibodeau said, “There’s nothing negative about this. This is all positive. As I said, the more he practices, the more he plays, the better he’ll get. He’ll be fine. Just take it day by day, keep doing the things that he’s doing and get ready for training camp when we get there. The important thing is to concentrate on what he’s doing right now, which is here, and do the things that we’re asking him to do here.”

Here’s more from around the east:

  • The Celticssigning of Evan Turner hasn’t been made official yet, but Jared Sullinger is excited that Turner will be playing for Boston next season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “Everybody is down on (Turner) because of how the ‘trade’ happened and what happened in the trade and how Indiana played,” Sullinger said. “People misunderstand Evan. He’s a great basketball player, a great teammate. I’ve known him for years. He’s all about winning. That’s his main goal.”
  • Sullinger has lost weight and is primed for a big season, writes Blakely in a separate article. Sullinger is free of the post-surgical limitations he faced heading into last season, and he said, “I couldn’t play until September, full-go with contact playing one-on-one, things like that. I was kind of behind the eight-ball and stayed behind the eight-ball. My biggest thing was health last year. I think I was a little afraid at the beginning of training camp due to my back, contact and all that good stuff. I was afraid of what was going to happen…but now I know what I can do. I know how my back is going to hold up. The beautiful thing about it is I have another year to show who Jared Sullinger can be.”
  • The crew over at Basketball Insiders preview the upcoming season for the Bucks, and the consensus is that Milwaukee will finish fifth in the Central Division, and miss the playoffs yet again.