Derrick Rose Looking To Stay Healthy ‘After I’m Done With Basketball’

It seems Derrick Rose finally has gotten fed up with being injured all the time.

The Chicago Bulls point guard has missed four of his team’s eight games this season, including a surprising 106-101 loss to the Boston Celtics. Rose admitted at the start of the season that he’d pace himself in order to stay healthy, and while some might accuse him of taking games off, the three-time All-Star is sticking to his guns.

“I felt like I’ve been managing myself pretty good,” Rose said Tuesday, via ESPN. “I know a lot of people get mad when they see me sit out or whatever, but I think a lot of people don’t understand that … when I sit out it’s not because of this year.

“I’m thinking about long term. I’m thinking about after I’m done with basketball. Having graduations to go to, having meetings to go to, I don’t want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son’s graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. (I’m) just learning and being smart.”

Hey, at least he’s honest.

Rose certainly has reason to be concerned. With two major injuries already in his past — a torn ACL in his left knee during the 2012 NBA playoffs and a torn meniscus in his right knee in November 2013 — he sprained both ankles against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 31 and re-aggravated the injuries on Nov. 5.

The 26-year-old is one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, a fact proven by the MVP award he won in 2011, so the Bulls likely will give him all the time he needs to get back to 100 percent.

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