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SportsNation asks whether the Bulls can make the playoffs next year if Derrick Rose misses the entire season.

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CHICAGO -- Luol Deng has stated repeatedly that he will 'definitely' be playing for Team Great Britain during this summer’s London Olympics despite the fact that he has a torn ligament in his left wrist. But before he makes a final decision about his future, Bulls GM Gar Forman and coach Tom Thibodeau want to sit down and discuss all the options with him.

"We're going to sit down with Luol some time in the next week," Forman said Tuesday afternoon. "Obviously, the season ended, and we've had Derrick (Rose) and his (knee surgery) over the weekend. Our biggest concern for Luol -- and I know the Bulls' fans concern and Luol's concern -- is his health. We haven't had a chance to sit down with him at length, but we will in the next week and go from there."

Forman, Thibodeau and Deng have held out hope that Deng still may not require surgery. If he does, and he remains committed to the Olympics, he would be out three to four months, likely keeping him out for the first two months of next season. Bulls team physician Dr. Brian Cole said Tuesday that Rose would likely be out between eight to 12 months while recovering from surgery to fix a torn left ACL he suffered during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Deng, who suffered his wrist injury on Jan. 21 and decided to play through the season, remained passionate about his decision to play in the Olympics after the Sixers ended the Bulls' season last week.

"I’ve got to see how my wrist feels right now, going into the Olympics, and then right after the Olympics," Deng said after Game 6. "I’ll make the decision, whether if my wrist is good enough I don’t need the surgery, or if I’ll need it. I haven’t really ruled out not getting the surgery or getting it. I just haven’t made that decision. I just know I’ve got the Olympics ahead of me. Since I was a kid growing up, it's something I always wanted an opportunity to be part of. the fact that it’s in my hometown that I grew up in a country that gave me opportunity to even be here, I’m looking forward to it."

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CHICAGO -- At a certain point while reporters directed questions at the orthopedic surgeon who performed Derrick Rose's reconstructive knee surgery, the medical jargon started to blur together.

All anyone wanted to know is when. And how. When will Rose be able to return full-time to the basketball court and how will he regain the form that has made him one of the best players in the NBA?

The short answer to the timetable question, said Bulls team surgeon Dr. Brian Cole, is eight to 12 months. The long answer was somewhat chilling.

"While he will hopefully be at a very high level in 12 months, it still may take slightly longer to be at his pre-injury level," Cole said. "That's not uncommon in athletes of this caliber."

And in one sentence by the medical professional best-equipped to predict, the reality of the situation set in. The next time we see the Derrick Rose we have grown so accustomed to watching on the basketball court, he will be 25 years old. Still young, likely still supremely gifted, but no longer a kid either.

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Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose will be out at least 8-12 months after undergoing surgery to repair his left ACL, said Dr. Brian Cole, who performed the surgery on Saturday.

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In reflecting for a Yahoo! Sports article on the obstacles he overcame in leading the Clippers to the second round of the playoffs for just the second time since the franchise moved to Los Angeles, coach Vinny Del Negro took a shot at his former employer, the Chicago Bulls.

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Who would you like to see return to the Bulls next season, and who needs to find a new NBA home? Cast your votes with Take 'Em or Trash 'Em.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday that not having the injured Derrick Rose will be a "big loss" for Team USA in its defense of the gold medal at the London Games this summer.

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Dealing with the frustration of a first-round exit and the helplessness of being sidelined by injury again, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah enters the offseason hoping for brighter days with Team France in the Olympics.

"I'm gunning for it," Noah said recently. "I'm hoping that I'll be healthy and be able to play."

Noah sprained his left ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quartefinals against the Philadelphia 76ers and missed the final two games as the Bulls became the fifth No. 1 seed to be knocked out by an eighth seed.

Noah missed 34 games last season, largely due to a torn ligament in his hand. He also sprained an ankle and missed three games in April, 2011. The ankle had to be re-examined by doctors before he was cleared to play for France last summer.

"I've got to strengthen my ankles," he said. "Too many ankle injuries throughout the years. I've got to strengthen up my ankles.

"I'm just frustrated because I really feel like I really worked hard on trying to keep my body right. I feel like the ankle injury was unfortunate. I think just going full speed onto somebody's ankle and landing on somebody's foot, that could have happened to anybody. It's frustrating, but nobody died. You learn from it and move on."

With Derrick Rose out with a torn ACL, the Bulls' frustration was based in the fact they weren't able to see what they could do with a healthy roster.

"I think it's just important for everybody to regroup mentally and to make another run at it," Noah said. "Because you know what, Derrick is going to come back, and it's adversity but it's just another challenge for us like (coach Tom Thibodeau) always says. We are very privileged people, doing what we love to do. Let's just go out there this summer and come back hungrier than ever and make a run.

"I think the unfortunate part of this year is that we don't know, we didn't measure up against the teams that we wanted to measure up against. But I think that, I personally believe that this group could compete against anybody. We had tough breaks throughout the year and that's unfortunate but it's also part of the game. You learn from being injured, you learn from the hard times that will make the good times even better."

In the first stage of what is sure to be a long road back to the hardwood, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose had surgery on his torn ACL on Saturday.

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'Pardon The Interruption' debates whether the Sixers won or the Bulls lost the series.

ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell discusses what to expect from the Bulls this offseason.

For once I just wanted him to speak the truth. Speak to what was really going on in his mind, speak to how he was really feeling in that moment. But to ask Tom Thibodeau -- or any coach not named Rex Ryan -- to do that, especially after having their season end would be like asking someone to make a hybrid car look like something you'd want to drive or be seen in.

Thibs, being the class act that he's always been, after the Bulls loss to the Sixers said all of the right things. PC to a fault. What I wanted him to say and what I wished he'd have said? Totally different than what came out of his mouth.

My wish is that he'd have said this:

"First off, we should be playing a Game 7. It's just that simple. You all know it, you all saw it. There's no way in hell I should be sitting up here talking to you about the end of our season tonight, we should be talking about what my game plan is for Saturday. Instead, here we are.

"Bottom-line, Philadelphia should have never gotten the ball back after Omer (Asik) missed those free throws. That foul was either an intentional or a flagrant. The guy wrapped both of his arms around Omer's neck. In every other NBA game, that's a call the ref has no choice but to make. It's in the rule book. It's an automatic call. Two free throws and possession. Game over. You all saw it! Anyway ... I'm not going to say anything further about it because I don't feel like getting fined, and I don't want to get a phone call from Stern's office telling me I'm right, but I should not have said anything about it. This is the NBA, I've been around this League long enough to know that I shouldn't expect anything different.

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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls players were clearly down but not entirely defeated Friday, as they attended meetings and cleared out of the Berto Center following their abrupt end to the postseason with a first-round loss to Philadelphia in five games.

"Obviously there's a lot of shoulda, coulda, wouldas," Carlos Boozer said. "I think every team goes through that when you lose. But listen, we were dinged up this year. We were like a car that was missing a few parts at the end of the season, but we were still ticking and going and fighting to get from A to B. We just fell a little short.

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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- The skies were blue, sun shining, temperature perfect and the day miserable in Chicago, Friday. At least for Chicago Bulls fans who, though not exactly optimistic about the team's playoff chances after Derrick Rose tore his ACL two weeks ago, were left with an aching void after the Bulls were eliminated in the first round by eighth-seed Philadelphia.

The only thing left now, other than the typically frustrating rhythms of Cubs and Sox baseball and football in shorts, is to dwell on the what if's and what-will-be's.

Here are 10 burning Bulls thoughts sure to bug us all summer:

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