Derrick Rose Return: Tom Thibodeau Says Chicago Bulls Superstar Will Be A Better Shooter

Derrick Rose missed the entire 2012-13 season after undergoing ACL surgery, but Chicago Bulls coach Tim Thibodeau is confident that the superstar point guard will be a better player next season.

Thibodeau believes that Rose will become a deadlier threat to opposing teams because of his much-improved shooting, saying that the former MVP spent a lot of time working on his shooting while recovering from the surgery that repaired the torn ACL he sustained in April last year.

"He's put a ton of time into his shooting because basically that's all he could do along with his rehab stuff. Each year that Derrick's been in the league he's added to his game. So this is a continuation of all the things he's done in the past. Every summer he's concentrated on something and we may see more post-ups and things of that nature, more catch-and-shoot for him also," said Thibodeau in interview with ESPN Chicago.

In a recent Adidas promotional trip in Spain, Rose said that he feels 100 percent healthy - both mentally and physically - and he will be ready for the Bulls' first game next season. This is the same projection of Bulls general manager Gar Forman, who had also shown full support to Rose during tough times last season.

"The encouraging thing is he's continued to make progress. There haven't been any setbacks. He's continuing to train at a high, high level and he's continuing work on his shooting and his basketball skills also. Everything's been real positive and he's having a great summer, as are a lot of our guys," Forman said.

Coach Thibodeau expects Rose to be fully-ready for training camp and he is planning to gauge Rose in their preseason games.

While they are definitely excited with Rose's return, Thibodeau said that he and his staff are leaning towards giving the 24-year-old point guard the normal eighth-minute starter playing time in preseason games.

Before missing last season, the former Memphis standout averaged 21.8 points to go along with 7.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds during the 2011-12 season.

Without him last season, the Bulls managed to advance to the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs, but fell short against eventual champions Miami Heat in five games.