Mehhh. People really want Derrick to play, and he's not, so angles are being fabricated to fill the void. For the most part the Bulls have handled the situation well. Ie, they haven't said a damn thing. The "He's Medically Cleared to Play" comment caused a small rub, but it was hardly news when you consider the circumstances. They've been water tight since then. As for Derrick, I've decided that his time up until now should give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he sits the whole season. We moralized Deng's injuries, and we now know that was hooey. He was trying too hard, not too little. Same thing for Kirk. Many others as well. Maybe Derrick's just being sensitive about his image, or concerned about his legacy, or overly cautious for whatever reason. But I seriously doubt he's lost his competitive ambition as a player, and for some reason I don't think he's lost the respect of his teammates. And like I said in a previous post, if he comes back next year kicking ass the fans and paparazzi will find themselves licking his jock and saying "it was all for the best."
I think him coming back would be a huge distraction. He's not played with these guys in real games. It would most likely take weeks of real games played to really get up to speed. Remember when Jordan came back from being a minor league baseball player? He shot .411 from the field and the team was bounced in the 2nd round (4-2). And that's what I'd expect from the Bulls with Rose this year, even if he came back with a month left in the season. He'll do fine by coming to summer camp or preseason with the rest of the team.
