Scott Powers, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Derrick Rose takes contact at Bulls practice

CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose took contact in practice Monday for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right knee in late February.

“This is the next step,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after practice on Monday. “We’ll know more as he goes forward. Obviously he needs some practice time where he’s taking contact on.”

Rose had a meniscectomy on his right knee on Feb. 27. He last played in a game on Feb. 23 and appeared in 46 of the Bulls' 57 games before his injury. He also tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2012 and the medial meniscus in his right knee in November 2013.

“Some good, some little winded, which is to be expected [with] body-on-body, full court, but it’ll come,” Thibodeau said about Rose's participation in two 4-on-4 scrimmages Monday. “The more he does that, the faster it will come.

“He was aggressive. As I said, the big thing was he was a little winded. We expected that. But overall, I thought it was good...he said he feels good. Physically, he feels good. The big thing is going to be the wind, the conditioning. He’s been out a long time.”

Rose and the Bulls now have to determine when Rose can return to game action. The Bulls have eight regular-season games remaining. They are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

“Ultimately, he’s got to feel comfortable,” Thibodeau said. “Can’t put him out there if he doesn’t feel comfortable. That’s the big thing. Each week he has done a lot more. This is the next step. So hopefully, he’ll be good."

Bulls center Joakim Noah was happy to see Rose back and taking contact on Monday.

“I think he did well,” Noah said. “He’s working hard. We’re all working hard. It’s good to have Derrick back in the contact part of practice.

“He just got to keep going, man. He’s a competitor. He hates to lose even if it’s 3-on-3 or 4-on-4. He just gets that competitive spirit. This is what we do. We love to play the game. Looking forward to get Derrick back.”

Noah hoped to have Rose back before the end of the regular season.

“As long as there’s no setbacks, that’s the plan,” Noah said. “I know he’s working hard. That’s what it’s all about.”

Rose declined to speak to the media on Monday.

“Everything that he’s gone through, when he gets hurt, it’s not just him,” Noah said. “It’s on all of us. We all feel it. We’re a family. We spend more time together than we do with our families. It hurts to see him go down, to see any of your guys go down because we know how much we put into this. But to see him come back and be resilient like that, it makes our team stronger.

“We know when Derrick is back right, he takes our team to a whole other level. He knows that. We know that. But right now, it’s just about him being healthy and being in good spirits.”

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