LeBron James plans to personally reach out to Chicago's Derrick Rose and welcome him back to the NBA prior to Tuesday's NBA season opener for the two defending champion Heat.
Rose, 25, missed all of the 2012 season recovering from knee surgery caused by a torn ACL and James says he admires the way the former league MVP didn't give in to outside pressures calling for his return during last year's playoff.
"I'm happy and thrilled that he's back," James told ESPN. "I'm happy with what he did last year, to be able to stand strong throughout everything, throughout all of the adversity of everybody criticizing him about what he should do. He did what was best for him."
Like most of the league, Heat players and coaches have taken notice of how impressive Rose has looked during the Bulls' 8-0 run through the preseason. Rose sat out of one game to deal with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee but has averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 27.4 minutes over seven games.
With Rose seemingly back at full strength, the Bulls are expected to present one of the stiffest challenges to Miami's quest to become just the third team over the last two decades to earn an NBA three peat. The 2011 MVP recently told reporters he considered the Heat the Bulls' only true rival in the league.
"The game needs him," Dwyane Wade told ESPN of the Chicago-born Rose. "You never want to see anyone get hurt, especially a player of D-Rose's caliber. Just because I'm a competitor doesn't mean I don't understand the importance of Derrick Rose to basketball. So it's good to see him back, and good to see him confident. He's going to make it tougher on everybody.
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