A Letter to Derrick Rose.

Us fans all demand that you come back and play immediately. You haven’t played in nearly a year, and the Bulls clearly need you for a deep playoff run. After watching Adrian Peterson tear his ACL and come back in only nine months, I’m not sure why you can’t do that. Robert Griffin III just tore his ACL, too, and he’s on pace to play in time for the beginning of the regular season. What’s YOUR excuse?

If the doctors have cleared you to play in an NBA game, it seem like there should be much else stopping you from finally helping the Bulls this season. Look at everything that they’ve done for you over the last couple of years. They’ve signed Carlos Boozer to a contract that is so huge that no one else with a prudent mind would trade for it, avoided the luxury tax at all costs, the most evident of those costs being the forever gaping hole at shooting guard, but that’s where you come in

You get paid $16 million this season, it shouldn’t matter who else is on the team, or who isn’t. Sure, the front office let go of Kyle Korever (the best three-point shooter this year), Omar Asik (second in the NBA rebounding), and missed out adding J.J. Redick to the team as the playoff stretch intensifies, but we need YOU.

After being cleared to play, your first course of action should have been to start warming up in preparation for your first game since April 28th of last year. Sure, knee injuries aren’t the easiest of injuries to cope with in any sport, but you have to get over this mental hurdle you say is hindering your confidence. Look at all the other guys who had knee injuries at a young age, they turned out to be just fine.

Grant Hill and his ankle were cleared to play before he went to play for the Magic, he’s still in the NBA, even if he’s been a shell of himself since 1999. Amare’ Stoudemire has a couple of knee injuries in the last few years and he’s STILL in the NBA. Sure, he’ll be out for another six weeks after missing the first two months of the season, but he’ll be back. Gilbert Arenas is still playing basketball; though it’s China, basketball is still basketball, right?

Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, Baron Davis, Tracy McGrady, anyone else of the same ilk before you, NEVER MIND THEM! It’s ridiculous when you see guys like Adrian Peterson come back, have a season that only ONE guy before him ever came close to AND win an MVP award only for guys like you to have the same injury and take your time.

What if the Bulls don’t advance past the first round this postseason? That would be all because you took so much time to return from an ACL injury that probably isn’t that serious to begin with, YOU’RE ABLE TO DUNK!

The Bulls can be the most dangerous second-round exit team in the playoffs this postseason if you play, they need you for that. Though the best days of this particular Bull core are still in 2011, what harm could 20-something games do? You’ll have an entire summer to recover from anything that may happen.

You’re only 24, Derrick. Your body will bounce back just fine; don’t take advantage of that, even if you feel that we all may be taking advantage of you.