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It was a year ago, on April 28, 2012, when Derrick Rose suffered a knee injury that is still being felt by the organization, its fan base and the entire NBA.

There was 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals when Rose drove into the lane and jump-stopped. The grimace on his face was immediate as he tried to jump for a shot before crashing to the court holding his left knee.

The United Center fell silent as the worse was expected and later verified. Rose tore his ACL and would undergo surgery on May 12. The Bulls won Game 1 but would go on to lose to the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

The prognosis was for Rose to take 8-12 months to rehabilitate and the process seemed to be going according to plan as periodic reports reflected steady progress. From doing basketball drills to practicing to taking full contact to scrimmaging five-on-five starting on Feb.18, Rose appeared poised to return after the All-Star break.

But suddenly the possibility that he wouldn't return this season started to surface in stories and interviews, and now it appears almost certain he won't be back at all this season.

ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell talked to many of those who were present at the time of the injury, and here are their stories:

Joakim Noah

"I just remember being up like 20 points and thinking we were going to win the championship. Even when he went down, it was weird but in my mind I was like, 'He could be out for a couple weeks and we'll be alright. We'll be ready for him to come back.'

"I even remember after the game I went to the Berto Center to go get some ice and get some treatment, I never do that, I was just so into it and then when I heard the news ... it was just hard. You know how hard we work every day, so to see him go down like that was tough. Not just for us as players but for the whole city."

“

It was a dark day. It was a dark day for us. We won that playoff game but Derrick getting hurt -- I'll probably remember that day for the rest of my life.

” -- Joakim Noah

When you first saw him on the ground what were you thinking?

"I just wanted to be there. Any time one of my teammates goes down I just try to be there for them. I didn't know how bad it was going to be. My mindset was more on just finishing the game and seeing him after."

How did you find out?

"My uncle called me. I can't believe I remember all this."

What was it like when you saw him the next day?

"It was hard, man. It was hard. I don't even like talking about it to be honest with you.

"It was a dark day. It was a dark day for us. We won that playoff game but Derrick getting hurt -- I'll probably remember that day for the rest of my life."

Carlos Boozer

(Long pause) "Truthfully, it was just sad, man. I couldn't really believe it. I was hoping it wasn't that serious but it was. Seeing him cry in the locker room, that was tough because he knew what happened already. It was tough, man. It's tough to talk about."

Did you know when he went down?

"No, I didn't know. I was just hoping it wasn't that bad. Honestly, I thought it was his ankle or something and then I realized he said it was his knee, so I was just hoping it wasn't that bad to be honest."

What was that locker room like?

"It was depressing, man. It was one of the saddest locker rooms -- we just won the game -- and it was one of the saddest locker rooms I might have ever been in."

What was the next day like for you?

"Tough, man. We really just met for a couple minutes, walked through a couple things and got out of there because everybody was down still. It was kind of like a ... it was just depressing, man."

Doug Collins:

"I was right in front of our bench and I saw him come down awkwardly and I just knew what he did -- I saw the way his leg buckled -- because I had that injury. And so I knew immediately.

"... I knew he hurt his knee and I was very sad. Obviously, it changed the playoff picture in our favor. They also lost Noah in Game 3, but Derrick Rose is a shining star and a bright light in the NBA and we miss him. He plays the game the way you're supposed to play it every night. He plays to win. He's a hometown kid who loves being in Chicago and representing his city. He's got a great family. And I'm one of these guys, I want to see the best players on the floor and so I hope he's going to be healthy soon and get back out there. Will that affect us? Yeah. But that kid needs to be out there playing basketball. He's special."

Taj Gibson:

"I remember it like it was yesterday. He was in the game, we talked about the game scheme, drew up a play for him to break down the defense and probably get a running hook, running floater -- he went down the lane, got a running floater, and just came down wrong. I was hoping it wasn't even his knee. I thought it was his ankle. He always had bad ankle problems, but he hurt his knee. We got a great win but the look on everybody's face wasn't even happy about the win. We were more like hoping that he's OK. You never want to see a teammate go out like that. But just the reaction when we got the news ... most of the guys just ran in the training room and we went into the training room and you didn't see him but we saw him come out with that disappointment look on his face it was surreal and we knew that it was something serious. That's what I remember the most."

"I just remember his face when he came out of the X-ray room and everybody was just shaking their head. It was like one of those scenes -- you're there but you don't know what's going on, but you know something was bad happening. It was one of those reactions, the whole locker room was just quiet, we heard people moving around but you hardly heard people say anything. That was crazy."

What was it like the next day?

"The next day was mellow. It was like you come in, it was quiet, real mellow and quiet. The only thing you mostly heard was the basketball. Guys just came in there and we got the news about how he was and it was cool because guys understood what they had to do but at the same time we really didn't understand like, 'What's the gameplan now?' How we got to adjust, we got to draw up different plays, we got to do different things like that. But guys were still like, 'Damn.' At the same time they were like, 'What could we have done differently? Maybe the second unit could have played a little harder, we wouldn't have had to worry about putting him back in the game.'"

"It was just a lot of stuff going on but then he was like, 'You got to man up. You got to get ready for the next game.' Things like this happen every day. But it was just tough because you go through a whole year of ups and downs, ups and downs, ups and downs, and get another blow like that to your teammate, you're like, 'Wow,' that was crazy. "


Sixers guard -- and Chicago native -- Evan Turner

"I think as big an icon as D-Rose has been to basketball and in the NBA and in Chicago, you're talking about a kid that's always been admired ... I root for every Chicago kid because you're putting on for the city and you inspire the younger kids coming up, (the injury) is traumatizing to a community. Chicago is on his back so you see him go down definitely is horrible because he's a pro's pro. You like watching him, you like seeing what he does, performing, so that was hard to watch, too."

What do you remember from that moment?

"I just thought he pulled a muscle because he didn't really react. I hear when people tear an ACL they start screaming and stuff. He didn't react or anything so I said he probably just caught a cramp because he's been playing off and on and that was it. I just figured nothing bad had happened, he never really got hurt before and then when it came out he tore his ACL, I was shocked because he didn't have any reaction."

John Paxson

"What I remember was there was excitement about the playoffs starting and us feeling that we had put ourselves in a position to make a run. And then we're sitting there just a short time away from winning Game 1 and knowing that every playoff game, that's the most important game you play, so we were going to have a 1-0 advantage.

"And then watching Derrick go down -- from that moment on I was just kind of numb -- because you knew it was bad when you saw him on the floor. And then the rest of the day was going to the hospital, staying with him and around him, and understanding that it was bad. And it was hard not to think about what that meant for our basketball team, but numb's the word to describe how I felt that day."

Gar Forman

"I remember when he first went down, because he had had several injuries during the year I thought ... I didn't have a good angle so I initially thought he had landed on someone's foot or sprained an ankle, I couldn't see that there was no one around. But then when I saw it on the TV, because we have a TV where we sit, then it was scary seeing him go down with nobody around. And then I just remember leaving the hospital and driving home and it just felt numb. That was about it."

Executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson doubts his team will make a significant move at the trade deadline and said the return of former MVP Derrick Rose figures to be their big move.

"We're up against what's called a hard cap," Paxson said Friday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "In order for us to do something we're not in a position to take on any real salary so we're kind of limited in what we can do. I think our team has grown -- it's not always pretty, let's face it; we've had some ugly games this year and that's kind of who we are right now. But we do grind it out and play hard.

"You're always on the lookout to do certain things, but I think our move hopefully will be bringing Derrick back into the fold."

Rose injured his knee on April 28 in the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers and had surgery on May 12. He was expected to be out eight to 12 months, according to team physician Brian Cole.

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Scottie Pippen is a big fan of Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, which is why he knows the Bulls will be competitive even without Derrick Rose, but Pippen isn't predicting as many wins as most Bulls fans.

In fact, Pippen's total would have the Bulls fighting just to make the playoffs.

Read the entire story.

John Paxson knows the Chicago Bulls need a second star to pair with Derrick Rose, and said the organization's inability to find one so far isn't for a lack of effort.

"The fact that … we haven't gotten another superstar to go with Derrick hasn't been through a lack of making phone calls and having dialogue with other teams," Paxson, the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations, said Tuesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "We're not out there promoting when we talk to people. The fact that we haven't been able to do that, we'd like to do that. We understand as well as anybody that it's been proven over the years that one great player is not going to get you a championship."

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Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said cutting is the next step in Derrick Rose's rehab from knee surgery, and declared it "foolish" for the team to set a return date.

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CHICAGO -- What is taking so long?

That's the question people throughout the NBA are asking as far as it pertains to a new contract for Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

Former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy was the latest to chime in on the story Friday morning on ESPN 1000’s "Waddle & Silvy" show. Van Gundy noted that it was 'interesting' that Thibodeau, his close friend, and the Bulls had not come to a contract extension already.

During a summer in which the Bulls have already had to battle the perception that the organization is making financial calculations rather than basketball decisions -- the exact opposite philosophy of the summer blue print Bulls GM Gar Forman laid out on draft night -- Jerry Reinsdorf has the ability to fix at least one issue before it becomes an even bigger distraction over the next few months: Just pay Thibodeau already.

A lengthy contract standoff – particularly if it carries into next season, which, as of now, would be the final year of Thibodeau’s deal -- will only serve to sway the court of public opinion in Thibodeau’s corner. Whether the Bulls want to admit it, there is a general feeling amongst the fan base that the Bulls are cheap.

Forman could argue that the decisions he made in filling out the rest of his bench this summer have been basketball related, not financially driven. It would be a tough sell for Bulls fans given the success the unit formerly known as the “Bench Mob” had the past two years. Still, over time, he may be able to validate his point. What he won't be able to change is the perception that Reinsdorf doesn't want to spend in order to put the best staff in place if he can't re-sign Thibodeau.

Since his hiring two years ago, Thibodeau, a longtime NBA assistant, has become one of the best coaches in the league. In consecutive seasons, the Bulls have led the league in regular-season wins. Thibodeau, furthermore, was voted the coach of the year two years ago and was the runner-up last season.

His detractors will say that the Bulls only advanced to the Eastern Conference finals two years ago and couldn't make it out of the first round last season because of injuries to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. The detractors would also tell you that Thibodeau is so demanding and hard charging that there is always a fear players could tune him out. Even if they don't tune him out, they could be so exhausted from the mental and physical grind that his players may not be playing at their peak come playoff time.

Having said that, I'd take my chances with Thibodeau as a coach every day. His record over the past two years speaks for itself. He maximizes the potential of his roster and gets the most out of his players. Are there times when guys get frustrated with him? Sure. Are there instances where fans should second guess some of his decisions? Absolutely. But more often than not, Thibodeau's players play hard for him almost every single night. They trust that he will put them in the best position to win and they know that no matter how hard they work they won't be able to put in the time that he does day in, day out. Player after player has a story about how they went in for extra shots one day at the Berto Center and the only other person in the facility late at night was Thibodeau.

It stands to reason that part of Reinsdorf's hesitation in giving Thibodeau a major extension is due to his previous dealings with former coach Scott Skiles. Like Thibodeau, Skiles, now of the Milwaukee Bucks, is a demanding coach who can grate on his players at times. After signing a four-year extension worth more than $16 million in the summer of 2005, Skiles was fired a year and a half later. That left Reinsdorf looking for a new coach while he was still on the hook for paying a large sum to the old one.

There are definitely plenty of differences this time around – Skiles didn’t reach the heights Thibodeau has and the Bulls the biggest one should be Thibodeau's relationship with Rose. The former MVP is still the franchise’s building block. Rose has said repeatedly that he wants Thibodeau here for the long-term because he believes that Thibodeau gives the Bulls the best chance to win. With so much uncertainty on the roster right now, why risk alienating your best player in any way?

Aside from Rose's feelings, Reinsdorf must also consider the constant distractions that this unresolved contract issue would cause during the year. Thibodeau, Forman and all the players would be asked about it throughout the year. While both Thibodeau and Forman have stated that the negotiations are a non-issue, that's simply cannot the case.

The longer it goes on, the longer the questions will linger. Are Thibodeau and the front office on the same page? As Van Gundy pointed out, if Thibodeau makes it past this year without a deal, there will be teams lined up to sign him for big money. Is that a risk that Reinsdorf wants to take?

The market for Thibodeau was set when the Oklahoma City Thunder locked up Scott Brooks this month for four years and around $16 million. Reinsdorf should offer – and it’s possible he has -- the same kind of deal to Thibodeau. Like Thibodeau, Brooks is viewed as one of the NBA’s up-and-coming coaches. A deal in that price range should be able to get the job done, but if Thibodeau still won't accept a deal in that range, Reinsdorf should pony up whatever the difference is and pay up. There are only so many coaches in the league that have the ability to maximize the talent on their roster on a night to night basis. If the Bulls don't want to pay Thibodeau, somebody else will. If that happens, the perception that Reinsdorf doesn't want to pay for a winner will be harder than ever for the organization to fight. At that point, it will become more than perception. It will become the truth.

Over the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at the Bulls' personnel and see where they fit in for the future.

John Paxson & Gar Forman

Season recap: Forman and Paxson once again built a very good roster full of depth and talent. The Bulls led the league in wins for the second consecutive year and were built to contend for a title this season around Derrick Rose. The problem is that when Rose went down in Game 1 because of a torn ACL, the reserves, most of whom had played well all season, faltered against the Philadelphia 76ers. Obviously, Forman and Paxson can't be blamed for the fact that Rose and Joakim Noah (ankle) went down, the issue for the Bulls is that the losses only highlighted the fact that the team doesn't have another dominant scorer to take the pressure off Rose even when he was healthy.

Season highlight: Like coach Tom Thibodeau, the proudest moment for Forman and Paxson probably came on March 14 when the Bulls knocked off LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat without Derrick Rose. The Bulls' Bench Mob, led by John Lucas and Kyle Korver, helped lead the way as the Bulls pulled off their most emotional win of the year.

Season lowlight: For Forman and Paxson the lowlight is painfully obvious. When Rose went down in Game 1, the Bulls' title hopes went down with him. The organization's future became extremely cloudy in the process.

Notes: The Bulls' front office had to go through a bad public relations spell during the year when Marc Stein reported that Tom Thibodeau was unhappy with the way his contract situation was being handled. While both Thibodeau and Forman/Paxson have both come out on the record and stated that it's not an issue, the fact that the sides have not come together on an extension deserves attention throughout the summer.

Quotes: "Any time any of our players get hurt, obviously you're disappointed," Forman said the day after Rose's injury. "Our goal was to be 100 percent going into the playoffs which we felt we were. It's obviously disappointing for Derrick, it's disappointing for the organization ... I think the players feel that we've got enough to get it done and have success and certainly as a coaching staff and a front office, we've feel we've got enough to get it done and have success and we think we've proven that throughout the year. Our bench has been real key and when guys have gone down, other guys have stepped up. We'll continue to move forward."

What's next?: Forman and Paxson have a lot of tough decisions to make. Aside from the potential Thibodeau extension, they have to decide on the futures of several key reserves. Among those decisions: do they pick up the contracts of Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer? What about C.J. Watson's option? Do they match Omer Asik's deal if he is signed to an offer sheet by another team? How far into the luxury tax do they want to go? Who should they take in the draft? Those are just some of the things they must figure out as they prepare for next season.

Final grades: Regular Season: A. Postseason: C.

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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The Chicago Bulls find themselves down 3-1 in their first round playoff series but of greater concern may be the health of John Paxson, the team's vice president of basketball operations.

"I have an arrhythmia issue I'm trying to get corrected," Paxson said in a statement released by the Bulls on Sunday. "It is something I've had before and planned this procedure over one month ago. Nothing more to it than that and had not intended for it to be made public."

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John Paxson said his relationship with his Chicago Bulls coach is “very good” after reports claimed Thibodeau is not happy with his contract situation.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported March 30 that associates of Thibodeau insist the coach is dismayed because he hasn't been offered a lucrative extension. Thibodeau signed a modest two-year deal with the Bulls before the 2010-11 season and the team holds an option for the 2012-13 season.

“[General manager] Gar’s [Forman] relationship with Tom, my relationship with Tom is very good,” Paxson, the Bulls executive vice president said Tuesday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “We want him here. He wants to be here. And as Gar said last last week, when you have the same goals it gets worked out. We need to get through this year. Hopefully we get healthy and have a good long playoff run and then we go to that issue.”

Forman said last week that the Bulls initiated contract extension talks with Thibodeau’s camp before the season but tabled them until after the season.

Thibodeau has led the Bulls to a 105-34 record in his one-plus seasons and reached 100 victories faster than any coach in history earlier this season.

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Over the past few weeks, we've taken a closer look at each player on the Bulls roster and have seen where they fit in for the future. Now, let's take a look at the two men who put that roster together and hired the NBA coach of the year, Tom Thibodeau, last summer.

Gar Forman and John Paxson

Season recap: Forman and Paxson repeatedly said last summer that they formulated multiple plans for the organization while waiting to see where free agents landed. After LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decided to sign (or in Wade's case, re-sign) with the Miami Heat, the duo put a contingency plan into action. They signed Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson to play alongside Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson, forming one of the deepest teams in the league. Forman and Paxson also hired Thibodeau -- the man who would end up maximizing the talent on the roster.

Season highlight: The regular season. The Bulls won a league-high 62 games and played hard almost every night. Rose took his game to a new level and led the team through injury-plagued stretches which saw Boozer and Noah go down for weeks at a time. The bench that Forman and Paxson put together turned into one of the most dependable units in the game. The entertaining Bulls created a level of excitement the team hasn't seen since the Jordan years. It's the main reason why Forman was named co-executive of the year with Pat Riley. Paxson finished in third place.

Season lowlight: The Eastern Conference finals. The Bulls played one of their best games of the year in Game 1, but after that it all went downhill. Boozer, who hadn't played very well in the postseason, had two solid games against the Heat but struggled in the others. Noah did not play like himself and was not much of a factor. And Rose, who had played so well throughout the season, looked worn out and didn't get much help on the perimeter, aside from Deng’s consistent play.

Final grades: Regular Season: A. Postseason: C.

“

This is a team award. Our entire front office -- from everybody involved -- has got a piece of it. I'm just happy that if there's votes given, the Chicago Bulls are getting votes. That means we're doing something right.

” -- Gar Forman

Notes: Plenty of fans clamored the Bulls to trade for a two-guard at the deadline, but Forman and Paxson didn't want to give up some of their young bench pieces, namely Gibson and Omer Asik. While most people agreed with that decision, and there's no telling if a deal would have helped them beat Miami or not, there's no question that the lack of another perimeter scoring option doomed the Bulls in the East finals. After Game 1, the Bulls simply couldn't make enough end-of-game plays to win. Now, the question becomes: What can Forman and Paxson do to get another game-changer on the roster, especially given that Noah's new deal kicks in next year and Boozer's deal is also going to become more bloated over the next few years.

What's next?: After the Bulls make their selections in the draft on Thursday, there won't be much left for Forman and Paxson to do until the lockout ends. Sure, they can discuss who they might go after in free agency, but until the collective bargaining agreement is hammered out, they won't know exactly what the numbers are and what they have to work with. For the time being, they should rest assured that the organization is in good shape with Thibodeau at the helm, an MVP in Rose and a lot of young pieces behind him.

CHICAGO -- After such a disheartening loss, there will be plenty of opinions on how the Bulls can better. Let's take a quick look at how each player may figure in the Bulls' plans heading into the summer ...

Bottom line: The Bulls have holes to fill to get past the Miami Heat next season. They don't have enough talent to compete in a seven game series. It will be up to John Paxson and Gar Forman to figure out where the biggest needs are and fill them. There is no bigger need than finding another scorer to help Rose. Boozer doesn't appear to be that guy -- they need somebody on the perimeter who can fill that need.

As the No. 1 pick of the 2008 NBA draft, Derrick Rose wasn't exactly an unknown talent, but Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said the organization had no idea Rose would be this good.

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Chicago Bulls executive vice president John Paxson isn't discounting the possibility of making a move before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, but he said no deal will be made that could potentially disrupt the chemistry of his surging team.

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John Paxson discusses the Bulls' strong start under first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau with ESPNChicago's Jesse Rogers and Jon Greenberg.

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