-a curious Bulls fan

“thus probably shouldn’t play since there’s a decent chance he’d be a liability on the court given that he’d lack his prior explosiveness”

Look i agree that he won’t be the same Rose early on. However to discount a focussed superstar going through rigorous rehab, a man who understands the game of basketball very well and is put in a system where he can succeed by his coach, that is just a silly move. He won’t be the same, but he will not be a liability at all.

“it’d be more fair to sit Rose than ask him to try to lead his team to a win over physical, tough playoff teams like the Indiana Pacers or the Miami Heat after only 3 weeks of playing time…”

4 words. Good luck convincing Rose. Seriously good luck playing the part of the Bulls GM saying ‘I know you say you’re healthy and ready to get back to the game you love, the game that has taken you from rags to riches and provided you with the means to inspire thousands, but we’re gonna sit you because that knee looks sore.’ I mean there is no way they sit their MVP point guard in a tough series when he is ready enough to begin playing. No way. Other than that good comment

“As an aside, a popular argument that’s surfaced recently goes something along the lines of, “hey, the Bulls aren’t going to win a championship this year, so Rose should just sit out the season.””

No, that’s not the argument that’s surfaced. That’s a strawman.

Here’s the ACTUAL argument:
“If Derrick Rose had come back by the All-Star break, he would have had 3 months to get back in shape, deal with any setbacks that might crop up after returning to the rigorous NBA schedule, and become a valuable contributor to the Bulls.

He wouldn’t be 100%, of course, but he could hope to be around 80-90% of his former self if he had a 3 month build-up to the playoffs that allowed him to regain his confidence in his knee and re-gain his sense of timing and feel for the game. After all, half of his team’s roster has been changed, so he needs time to get used to playing with several new teammates. As a point guard, it’s especially important for him to get to know his teammates’ favorite spots since it’s his job to run the offense and find them there.

However, the All-Star break was about a month ago, and there are NO indications Derrick Rose is about to start playing in the next few days. Therefore, it’s EXTREMELY likely that Derrick Rose will have less than a month of regular-season basketball to try to get into shape and find his rhythm again. Indeed, if he doesn’t start playing by the end of March, which is in 3 weeks, Rose would only have 2 weeks to get into game-shape before the playoffs start on April 20.

Therefore, it’d be unfair to Rose to make him play with barely any time to prepare for the playoffs. Given that it took a couple of months for fellow point guard Ricky Rubio to look comfortable on the court after returning from his ACL injury, it’d be more fair to sit Rose than ask him to try to lead his team to a win over physical, tough playoff teams like the Indiana Pacers or the Miami Heat after only 3 weeks of playing time…”

“I hate to break it to those who agree with that line of thinking, but only three teams have a true shot at a championship this season barring freak injuries — the Heat, the Thunder, and the Spurs. So does that mean that any player injured on one of the league’s 27 non-championship contenders should simply sit out the rest of the season, even if they’re physically able to come back and play? Of course not.”

First of all, you’re not really qualified to discount the chances of the other 14 teams that will make the playoffs. You have no credibility to rule out teams like the Grizzlies, Clippers, Pacers, Knicks, etc., that have all shown the ability to make life difficult for the OKC Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Miami Heat in regular season games. Nice try, random blogger for NBCSports.

Secondly, Rose isn’t recovering from a minor injury like an ankle sprain that made him miss a couple of games. He’s missed the ENTIRE season so far. So you’re missing the point.

It’s not that Rose was injured briefly, and thus shouldn’t play because the Bulls don’t look good. It’s that Rose was injured for THE ENTIRE SEASON, likely won’t have ANY time to get into game-shape and get used to playing with new teammates, and thus probably shouldn’t play since there’s a decent chance he’d be a liability on the court given that he’d lack his prior explosiveness, and he’d risk re-injury.

They have $73 million in cap commitments for next season (2013-2014), but $15 million comes off the books if they choose to amnesty Boozer.

In 2014-2015, the only guys under contract are Rose, Gibson, Noah, and (if he’s not Amnestied) Boozer, and both Butler’s and Teague’s contracts are team options at that point (meaning the team can choose not to keep them without any cap penalty).

So they can be big players this upcoming offseason in free agency, and they can be very significant players free agency in 2015. Plus, they have Charlotte’s first-round draft pick (top-12 protected in 2013, top-10 protected in 2014, top-8 protected in 2015, and unprotected in 2016), in addition to all of their own first round draft picks for the next few years.