On Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that Derrick Rose will be re-joining the team after an excused absence. And for the record, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue is happy to have him back.
“We’re happy to have him back,” Lue told Joe Vardon of cleveland.com after Monday’s practice in Chicago. “Glad he’s back. Glad he’s in a good place and he started his rehab today.
“He wants to be back and he wants to play,” Lue continued. “And he’s too young. Too young, too talented to give it up this early. I know he’s frustrated but like I said, I’m glad he’s in a good place now.”
Rose, now 29 years of age, left the Cavs on November 22nd. According to most reports, the former MVP was frustrated with having so many injuries over the course of his career. His ankle injury, which occurred in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this season, has kept him from playing since November 9th.
Coach Lue, now in his third year at the helm, was always expecting Rose to return to the team. In fact, coach Lue recently said that the former No. 1 overall pick the Draft could take “as long as he needed” to gather his thoughts.
After Saturday night’s road win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Cavs general manager Koby Altman and coach Lue hinted that they had been in “positive communications” with Rose. Just a couple of days later (Monday), Altman released an official statement with regards to the situation.
“This has been a very challenging and difficult time for Derrick,” Cavs general manager Koby Altman said in an official news release from the team. “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.”
The Cavs, winners of 11 consecutive games (longest active streak in the NBA), will be back in action 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.