It sounds like Derrick Rose is done for the season.
Last week during the Knicks’ three-game road trip, Tom Thibodeau noted Rose had taken the next step in practice and was just awaiting word on him being cleared for contact.
But with seven games left, the play-in just a fantasy and the Knicks winning 109-104 over Chicago on Monday, Thibodeau sang a different song.
Thibodeau said Rose’s “conditioning’’ still is an issue and it’s unclear when he’ll be cleared for contact after undergoing his second ankle procedure on Feb. 25.
“I don’t know,’’ Thibodeau said on whether there’s time. “I don’t know — he’s been out a long time.”
Playing the young kids such as rookie point guard Miles McBride might be the smart maneuver, though there was a movement to get Rose a jump-start for next season.
Knicks guard Derrick RoseNBAE via Getty Images “The main thing is we want him to go step by step,’’ Thibodeau said. “He hasn’t taken contact on. He’s ramped up his conditioning but hasn’t taken contact on. That’s a big thing.’’
If his season is over, Rose will have played just 26 games in his second season of his second Knicks stint. He was rightly praised for guiding the Knicks to a 41-31 record last season with an All-Star type finish.
But he underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his ankle in December, then had a second procedure and likely won’t return. On a video Rose posted after his most recent procedure, he hinted he’d be back. The second operation dealt with an infection in the surgery area. Rose hasn’t talked to the media since January.
Rookie shooting guard Quentin Grimes missed his second straight game with a sore right knee — the same knee that was dislocated Feb. 25. It’s unclear if the Knicks are worried Grimes came back too soon.
Julius Randle wasn’t sure if he’d be ready to complete the back-to-back after his Sunday return in Detroit from a three-game absence, but he played against the Bulls on Monday.
