By now, most hoops fans have heard the news: Cavs point guard Derrick Rose has decided to take an excused leave of absence from the team to deal with a personal matter.
His new teammate, LeBron James, says he doesn’t expect to fully understand what Rose is going through, but he did offer a motivational quote from former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt after Friday night’s 100-99 home win over the Charlotte Hornets.
“At the end of the day, my favorite quote of all-time is Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘The Man in the Arena,'” James told reporters after Friday night’s game. “If you don’t know about it — read it. It’s my favorite quote. Anybody can sit on the outside of an arena and criticize the man in the arena that’s giving his blood, sweat, and tears. But until you walk in the face of the line of battle, or adversity, or whatever the case may be, you don’t understand it.
“I understand it as a professional athlete, but I can never understand what he’s going through,” James continued, referring to Rose’s situation. “It’s his life. I’ve been with him for two months. I want him to be happy. There’s no substitution for that.”
Prior to Friday night’s game, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue publicly wished Rose well, saying “He can take as long as he wants.”
Derrick Rose, now 29 years of age, has dealt with a myriad of injuries over the course of his career, and it seems to be taking a toll on his mentality. This season, the former MVP suffered an ankle injury which has kept him out of the lineup to this day. Coach Lue was expecting the crafty ball-handler to miss at least two more weeks of action.
Despite the fact that Rose will be away from the team, coach Lue says he wants him to come back. He also noted that there will be no set timetable for the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 Draft.
The Cavs, who are already dealing with several hits to their back-court rotation (Isaiah Thomas and Iman Shumpert), will just have to keep their “next man up” slogan alive. In the meantime, let’s keep Derrick Rose in our thoughts and prayers.
