With no major trade looming in the wings, all the Chicago Bulls can do is wait for their biggest piece of the puzzle to return to the fold.
As the Bulls wait for the return of Derrick Rose to the court, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson says that his team isn't planning on making any major moves before the Feb. 21 trading deadline.
"We're up against what's called a hard cap," Paxson said recently on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "In order for us to do something we're not in a position to take on any real salary so we're kind of limited in what we can do. I think our team has grown -- it's not always pretty, let's face it; we've had some ugly games this year and that's kind of who we are right now. But we do grind it out and play hard."
"You're always on the lookout to do certain things, but I think our move hopefully will be bringing Derrick back into the fold."
With the Bulls in a dogfight with the Indiana Pacers for the top seed in the Central Division, they have won seven of their last 10 games and have been performing well largely thanks to the all-around play of All-Star Joakim Noah.
However, it's been well known that Rose's dynamic skills make the Bulls an NBA Championship threat. Still, Paxson reiterated a well-known theme surrounding Rose's recovery-there's no need to rush.
"We can't sit here today and say he's going to be back in three weeks or after the All-Star break," Paxson said. "Those things are a hope, but his body is going to tell us and then when we get to that point that's when we're going to have to sit down and determine, after we talk to our doctors and everything, then determine our gameplan of minutes and how best to bring him back."
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
