The Derrick Rose media tour is in full swing. As the NBA star continues his trip around the world to promote all things NBA and Adidas, reporters are jumping at the opportunity to interview him and find out where he stands in his recovery. After an impressive dunk, it is pretty clear Rose is back and at full strength. His return alters the NBA standings for next year and he knows it.
While sitting with CNN's Pedro Pinto, Rose was asked who he thinks the best player in the NBA is.
"Derrick Rose."
Point blank. No hesitation. The 24-year-old is completely confident that despite his injuries, he remains the best in the league. This comes after Rose sat out the entire 2012-13 NBA season due to an ACL tear suffered during the playoffs in 2012. The statement itself echoes comments by both Bulls' coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Gar Forman saying that Rose is back and will be ready to start the season.
While Rose does not doubt his talent, he also does not doubt the talent of another NBA player. When asked who the toughest player in the league was to guard, Rose quickly responded saying LeBron James.
"I would have to say LeBron," Rose said. "A 6-foot-8 guy that's 250 pounds. What do you think?"
Rose and James have had a healthy rivalry with another, mainly stemming from the back-and-forth series' of the Heat and Bulls. With Rose back in the league, the Eastern Conference power could be shifting. The Bulls are now a more complete team with Rose. Considering Chicago got as far last year without him, having Rose back could mean big things.
Thibodeau expects there to be a slight adjustment period for Rose when he first comes back.
"We'll see once we get to training camp, and we're going to have an opportunity to get some work done in the fall, but we have to keep in mind he's been out an extended amount of time," Thibodeau said. "So the preseason-and we look at training camp as the entire month, not just a week-we'll move him along accordingly. We'll see what he can handle. I think there's going to be some rust initially, but I fully expect him to get back to [being] the player we all know that he is."
Thibodeau understands that Rose is healthy and itching to get back on the floor, but he is not ready to throw his franchise player into the fire just yet. If all goes well, Rose will also likely head for Team USA next summer.