After taking an excused leave of absence from the team to contemplate his future in the NBA nearly two weeks ago, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose made his return on Monday. However, on Friday morning, the former MVP spoke formally to members of the media, revealing that he has a bone spur in his left ankle, which could require surgery.
If Rose had decided to hang up his basketball shoes, he would have been missing out on roughly $80 million in signature shoe revenue from Adidas. As long as the former No. 1 overall pick in the Draft plays in the NBA, the shoe company is obligated to manufacture his sneakers. Some might think that amount of money would bring any player back to the hardwood, but Rose says his decision to come back simply wasn’t about that.
“Man, I don’t care about — not to be rude — I don’t care about no f—ing money,” Rose told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin after Friday morning’s shoot-around in Indianapolis. “It’s not about that. I’ve saved up enough money. It’s not about that. If I wanted to leave, I would have left. Like I said, coming back here, starting with rehab that’s my first step. Keeping it simple and just giving my team support and then I’ll see what I see off the court.”
Prior to Wednesday morning’s practice — just two days after his return to the Cavs — Rose apologized to his teammates and vowed to support them throughout his rehabilitation.
“I was just figuring things out,” Rose told ESPN. “Thinking about this and that. But I’m here for my team. I’m here to win. And that’s one of the reasons why I came back.”
In his seven appearances with the Cavs this season, Rose has turned in averages of 14.3 points on 47 percent shooting from the field, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. When asked if he was concerned about a potential role change when he is healthy enough to play, the crafty ball-handler gave a humble reply.
“Am I concerned? No, no,” Rose said. “Not at all. I’ll be able to hoop. That’s all I want to do: hoop and win. I don’t care about all the stuff that comes with it. I’m appreciative, I’m grateful to be on this team and like I said, just trying to take it one day at a time. Every rehab is very crucial. So I’m trying to attack all my rehab.”
The Cavs have managed to rattle off 13 consecutive wins, despite the fact that several key members of their rotation (Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson) have been out with injuries. They’ll look to keep their momentum rolling on Friday night when they face off against the Indiana Pacers inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST with Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Indiana having live broadcast coverage.