The Bernstein Brief: Bulls Done Coddling Derrick Rose
By Dan Bernstein-
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) Bulls executive vice president John Paxson laid it out there before Dr. Brian Cole even got a look inside Derrick Rose's knee.
When asked Thursday evening if he expected his $94 million-dollar man to return this year, Paxson said, "The hope is that he will." We will know more later this morning from general manager Gar Forman after the procedure, but the fact that the man running the team stated expectations the night before is significant.
The Bulls want a timetable public, and they want Rose to avoid the strange behavior of previous rehabs and act like other professional athletes who have these routine surgeries. Good for them.
Whether his presence actually makes enough of a difference or not is beside the point in this case. What matters is that the team isn't going to insulate Rose from any criticism if he again decides to ignore doctors' orders.
This one is now on him from the jump.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
