Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James says Derrick Rose doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for his excused absence from the team.
On Monday morning, the Cavs officially announced that Rose, now 29 years of age, will be reporting to the team’s practice facility in Independence, Ohio to resume the rehabilitation process on his injured left ankle.
After Saturday night’s 116-111 win over the Memphis Grizzles, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue and general manager Koby Altman hinted that they had been in “positive communications” with Rose. However, they would not comment further on the situation at that time. Then, on Monday morning, Altman made an official statement with regards to the matter.
“This has been a very challenging and difficult time for Derrick,” Cavs general manager Koby Altman said in a news release. “We will continue to provide him with support and have patience as he re-joins his teammates and works his way back on to the court.”
After Monday morning’s team practice in Chicago, James, now in his 15th season of NBA service, offered some kind words for his new teammate.
“You never know what someone is going through and we just hope that we can be his support system and if he needs something to say or wants to get it out, then we’ll be open and listen and then welcome him back in,” James told Joe Vardon of cleveland.com. “We happy that he’s not giving up on his love at this point in his life and his career and he’s ready to return back to Cleveland.”
In his seven games played for 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 — all while knocking down 90.5 percent of his shots at the charity stripe.
The Cavs, now winners of 11 consecutive games (longest active streak in the NBA), will look to keep their momentum rolling on Monday night when they face off against the Chicago Bulls inside the United Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. with Fox Sports Ohio and WGN having live broadcast coverage.