Miami Heat superstar LeBron James has a simple piece of advice for injured Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose.
“Get healthy,” James said after Tuesday afternoon’s practice.
James says he hasn’t spoken to Rose since the 23-year-old former MVP had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, but James hopes Rose will be able to return to the court quickly.
“No, I don’t personally have D-Rose’s number,” James said, when asked if the pair had spoken. “I have never really had an extended conversation with D-Rose. I did say to the media that it sucks that (the injury) happened and I wish him a fast recovery and hope he gets back to 100 percent.”
While James acknowledged he doesn’t have any idea what Rose is going through as far as the knee injury, he did admit that he has always been a fan of Rose’s and wants to see him back on the floor.
“I don’t know what he’s going through,” James said. “I’ve never had that type of injury, knock on wood, so I can’t imagine what he’s going through. I just hope he comes back 100 percent, 110 percent, because I am a fan of his. I love the way he plays the game of basketball and what he brings to the game.”
That feeling was shared by James’ teammate, and Chicago native Dwyane Wade. He also acknowledged that he hadn’t spoken to Rose yet, but planned to do so over the summer.
“No, I sent out my best wishes to D-Rose and his family, but I’ve been focused on the playoffs a little bit,” Wade said. “I’m sure I’ll be around Chicago a little bit in the summer and get an opportunity to hopefully talk to him, but I just sent out my wishes when it happened and hopefully all is well with him and his family and he gets back on this basketball court.”
While Wade never has dealt with Rose’s specific injury, he has dealt with plenty of injuries of his own. He knows that Rose’s rehab will try the former MVP’s patience.
“When it comes to rehab, yes (I can empathize),” Wade said. “It’s going to be … when I had to rehab through injuries if it’s a point in rehab where you don’t question if this is what you want to do, (there’s) going to be that time. It’s going to be hard.
“It’s going to be times where you feel like you’re not making any improvement and you’re not going to be able to do some of things you’ve always done your whole life. But (if) you continue to stick with it, continue to listen to the doctors, continue to stay on your rehab process, eventually you can get back there.”
While James and Wade may not know exactly what Rose is going through, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers certainly does. Like Rose, he suffered a knee injury similar to Rose’s during his career. He doesn’t think Rose will have much problem getting back to the player he used to be.
“He’ll be 100 percent,” Rivers told ESPNChicago.com. “He’ll be fine. He may take ’til December or whatever but when he comes back he’ll probably take a month or so just so he can trust it. You’re healthy, right? When you do the surgery, actually. Just the rehab part and the trust. The trust will take a little bit, but he’ll be fine.”
WRITTEN BY Nick Friedell | ESPNChicago.com & FULL STORY HERE
