Even when Derrick Rose is trying to be a good guy, he gets hurt.
The Chicago-centric news out of the All-Star game was that the oft-injured point guard has been offering injury advice to teammate Jimmy Butler.
Seeing as how Rose takes orders from General Soreness, this can’t be good news for the Bulls or their fans. Butler is out with a sprained knee and, pre-advice, was expected to miss the next three weeks.
Rose has had so many injuries and has been so stubborn about making sure his body is perfectly healthy before playing that news of his counsel to Butler surely will launch a thousand punch lines.
Say this for Rose: He’s consistent with his tone deafness. The things he told Butler are the same things he has been saying publicly since his unfortunate string of injuries began.
What advice did Rose give Butler?
“Just to listen to my body. Don’t come back too fast because you don’t want to make it worse,’’ Butler told reporters. “Obviously, he knows because he’s had knee surgeries. He was just telling me, ‘Look, make sure you’re right because when you’re not using something, something else shuts down and you don’t want to get hurt doing that either.’ He’s been a big help, truthfully.’’
In other words, here’s how three weeks off becomes six.
Kidding aside, there’s value in what Rose is saying. Coming back too early from one injury can lead to a completely different injury. You might compensate for a strain in one part of your body by putting pressure on another area.
But fair or not, Rose’s “listen to your body’’ mantra has sounded like a selfish athlete who is more worried about his moneymaking ability than his team’s playoff chances.
I feel sorry for Rose. Even when he’s trying to do the right thing, it comes out all wrong. This time, he put Butler’s foot in his mouth.