Despite latest knee injury, Derrick Rose believes he's still main man for Bulls

CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose isn't wavering. He still sees himself as a star, a cornerstone player, despite another major knee injury that brought his long-awaited return to a screeching halt. So he wasn't quite sure what to make of the idea.

Is it time for the Chicago Bulls to move on, to abandon the idea of building around him, given his injuries? "What can I say to that?" Rose said. Then, after a long pause, he added, "You could be a fool if you want to. Dead serious. I know I'm going to be all right." In fact, he's not quite ruling out a return this season.

The point guard left the door slightly open yesterday for a comeback in the playoffs if his surgically repaired right knee is healed -- even though the team has said he will miss the rest of the year.

Rose tore the medial meniscus in his right knee in a game at Portland on Nov. 22. He had surgery in Chicago three days later, cutting short his comeback after he sat out last season recuperating from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

"If I'm healthy and the situation is right, I will be back playing," Rose said when asked if he might return for the playoffs. "If I'm healthy and my meniscus is fully healed, of course I'll be out there playing. But if it's something totally different and the outcome is not how I would want it to be, there's no need."