Chicago Bulls fans are counting down the days until the Bulls first preseason game when they finally—after more than a year—get to see star point guard Derrick Rose in action. However, Bulls fans aren’t the only ones happy to have Rose (who was sidelined with a torn ACL) resume NBA basketball—his teammates are also happy to see him on the court again.
Rose’s fellow point guard Kirk Hinrich recently spoke about what it means to have the 2011 MVP rejoin the team and where the Bulls can go this season, according to ESPNChicago.com.
"We're excited," Hinrich said Monday at a charity golf event which was meant to promote the BMW Championship of the PGA Tour. "We think we'll have a really good team. Hopefully we'll have some better luck health-wise. We're getting Derrick back and it's going to be great. I think we're going to be a very good, very deep team."
Hinrich has by no means bean speaking to Rose every day, but he has kept in touch with the 24-year old.
"I saw him a few times, but not for a while," Hinrich recalled. "He's traveling around and getting ready himself. You can just tell he feels excited to have the opportunity to get back out there and just play basketball. That's what he loves to do and we're excited to have him back."
Hinrich suffered his own injury(calf) during the the 2013 playoffs. Despite rumors that he might still be struggling with the injury, Hinrich says he is ready to go.
"If I wasn't healthy I wouldn't be out here (playing golf)," he said reassuringly. "I'm feeling much better and feel like I've had a good offseason. I had time to take care of my body, heal up and start preparing for next year."
Hinrich is a key piece on the Bulls bench. The 32-year old point guard, who averaged 7.7 points and 5.2 assists last season, is a great defender and is capable of orchestrating the offense.
The Bulls open the season against the NBA Champion Miami Heat on Oct. 29—a matchup that Hinrich is very much looking forward to.
"I'm very excited," he said. "We have most of our guys back. We had some great additions. The anticipation of Derrick coming back healthy and it sounds like he's motivated. We think we have a very good chance and it will be very good."
The Bulls first preseason game is Oct. 5, 8 p.m. ET at the Indiana Pacers.
