National Basketball Association

Derrick Rose isn't focused on recruiting Carmelo to Chicago

Published Jun. 30, 2014 2:06 p.m. ET

foxsports

If Carmelo Anthony does decide to play in the Windy City, it likely won't be because of anything Bulls star Derrick Rose said to him.

Reports surfaced Sunday that 'Melo intends to meet with Chicago this week, after opting out of his contract with the New York Knicks recently. The star forward reportedly will talk to other teams, too, and could still return to The Big Apple, of course.

But if the Bulls are expecting Rose -- their current, injury-prone star -- to help in the pursuit of Anthony, apparently they should think again.

Sounds kinda cold (and potentially even short-sighted?), but Rose went on to explain to Yahoo that he respects Carmelo and knows they could play on the same team just fine:

In the interview, it sounds like Rose is less concerned with which star free agent his team can land and more interested in getting healthy himself. He averaged almost 22 points a game in 2011-12, the last season before his first major knee injury. Since then, Rose has had one more serious knee surgery, and he's played in just 10 games over the past two years.

"For sure. That's not a concern," Rose told Yahoo. "I'm on a mission. I'm just trying to get better. I'm taking it day by day. I'm getting the best out of every day."