Derrick Rose suffers orbital fracture, will undergo surgery on Wednesday
The Chicago Bulls began their 2015 season on Monday with all their players returning in uniform for Media Day. Despite the presence of 2-time NBA Champion Pau Gasol and 2014-15 Most Improved Player Jimmy Butler, former MVP Derrick Rose still stole the spotlight and he made good use of it reminding everybody how good he can be this season after spending a summer training rather than rehabbing.
"I know I'm great. There's a lot of people that don't know I'm great, that's the thing. But it's cool. I know I can hoop."
He also raised some eyebrows during the interview talking about his free agency in the summer of 2017. He made it clear that he was looking to receive a fair share of the money that the league has received via its TV deals with TNT and ESPN.
“Here (Chicago), it's here,” Rose said of where he wants to play. “But when you talk about that much money, the only thing you can do is prepare for it. I'm trying to prepare, not only myself, but my family. And I'm doing this all for my son. Like I said, I'm thinking about his future. Even though we're all right, we're comfortable, when you talk about that x-amount of dollars, I think it raises everyone's eyebrows, so there's nothing wrong with being over-prepared.''
Chicago Bulls fans were optimistic for a great season under rookie Head Coach Fred Hoiberg. Alas, it didn’t take long for Chicago’s hopes to take a hit ONCE AGAIN. During the team’s first practise on Tuesday, Derrick Rose was hit by an elbow on the face suffering an orbital fracture. He is sceduled for surgery for Wednesday however any timetable after that has not been determined yet.
Here's a look at Derrick Rose's timeline of injuries since 2012. pic.twitter.com/4lxMvowwcU
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 29, 2015
Injuries followed by a rehab period have unfortunately become a regular part of Rose’s playing career ever since he won the MVP back in the 2010-11 season.
Although he left practise early Bulls teammate Taj Gibson and Coach Hoiberg don’t seem overly concerned about Rose’s injury.
"He got a little elbow," Gibson said. "We don't know the [severity] of it, but hopefully he'll be fine. I know he's tough. But it was one of those plays, especially in practice, where everybody's going hard. It's just tough."
To make matters worse for the Bulls, Rose isn’t the only player injured. Gibson is still making his way back from a left ankle surgery while Mike Dunleavy Jr. had back surgery on Friday and is expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks of action.