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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Derrick Rose's teammates and coaches remain fully supportive of the rehabbing Chicago Bulls star despite a growing sentiment that he should return to the court. That sentiment was articulated this week by former Bulls guard and Turner Sports analyst Steve Kerr.

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Steve Kerr said Monday he thinks Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose "owes it to his teammates" to play if the only obstacle is confidence as the banged-up Bulls take on the Brooklyn Nets in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The one-year anniversary of Rose tearing his left ACL passed Sunday. He underwent surgery on May 12 and the prognosis for recovery was 8-12 months. ESPN Chicago reported on March 9 that Rose had been medically cleared to play and he has been scrimmaging five-on-five since Feb. 19. Indications are Rose has regained his explosiveness and has looked dominant in practice, but he still hasn't played this season and has said it's a matter of regaining his confidence. He said he's not certain when he'll return.

"I think the Bulls have handled it the right way," Kerr said on "The Carmen & Jurko Show" on ESPN 1000. "Err on the side of caution, tell him, 'Hey look, when you're ready, you come back.'

"But I wouldn't hesitate to go to him today and say, 'Here's the deal. We're not going to say anything publicly. But we need you. Kirk (Hinrich) is out. We need 25 minutes. We've seen you. We've cleared you two months ago. If you're not comfortable, then that's fine, and we won't mention one word. We'll continue to go the path we've gone. But we need you.'"

The criticism of Rose has escalated as he's watched Hinrich (calf) and Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis) fight through injuries to put the Bulls up 3-1. Hinrich has been ruled out for Game 5 on Monday in Brooklyn. Kerr, who won three of his four titles with the Bulls and is a former Phoenix Suns general manager, will work Game 5 as a TNT analyst.

"And to me, I think Derrick owes it to his teammates at this stage," Kerr said. "And again, I've been Derrick's biggest supporter on this. I've been saying all along, up until two days ago, I've been saying, 'He should not play if he's not comfortable.'

"But if this is just about not being fully confident, you've got to go out there. If this is about, 'Hey, it doesn't feel right and I'm worried I can hurt it,' then no way should he play. But if this is just about, 'You know gosh, I'm just not quite confident yet.' I would appeal to him and say, 'Can you give us 20 minutes.' And if you're Derrick, you've been watching Noah and Hinrich play on one leg this whole series, at what point do you start to feel sort of self-conscious and guilty about what's unfolding?"

Rose has said he feels no pressure to return. He also said he would return during the playoffs if he felt ready, and coach Tom Thibodeau has not shut the door on that possibility.

"It could be tomorrow and I feel like I could play the next game," Rose said on March 21. "Nobody knows but God."

Up until Saturday, when Hinrich and Noah played through their injuries to help the Bulls win in triple-overtime, Kerr had been steadfast that Rose should come back only when he's comfortable.

"It's a really tricky situation," Kerr said. "I realize the whole world's eyes are on Derrick, the basketball world's eyes are on him. And he lives in a different realm than the rest of us, so there's a ton more pressure. But if this is just about the team, then I think he kind of owes it to these guys to get out there."

Kerr was asked whether he thinks the Bulls are asking themselves privately why Rose hasn't returned. The Bulls' front office has said it wants Rose to take as much time as he needs and Rose's teammates have been emphatic in defending him.

"I think there's so much respect for Derrick because of the type of character he has and the type of person he is, what he's meant to that franchise, and the Bulls players -- the Bulls have done such a great job of putting together a group of guys who really care and are committed to the team -- so they're not going to say anything," Kerr said. "But probably privately at some point, they're going to be like, 'Hey, you know, what's the deal? Let's go, we're trying to win here.'

"But again, let me reiterate, if there's any question in his own mind about being injured, then he should not go out there. But if it's just about, 'I'm not quite confident enough,' you know what, I'm sure Joakim's not confident in his foot and Kirk's not confident in his calf. And if that's all this is about, then it's time to get out there."

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls have been playing better than many believed without Derrick Rose and have surprised plenty of their own fans in the process.

Hall of Famer and Bulls ambassador Scottie Pippen predicted on the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 before the season that the Bulls would win just 40 games. The Bulls are almost halfway there as they go into Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 19-13 record.

"I think they've been playing great," Pippen said before a Bulls' charity event Tuesday. "With a lot of new faces, pretty much the whole bench has been revamped, but the guys have come in and really worked hard. Coach (Tom Thibodeau) has got them focused and really giving their all night in and night out so you have to be happy with the results and their record.

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Would Steve Kerr match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $25 million offer to Omer Asik if Kerr were the Chicago Bulls' general manager?

It's the $15 million for the third year that gives Kerr pause.

"It would be really tough to (match)," Kerr said Thursday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I love the guy. His tandem with Taj Gibson defensively, to me, is kind of the next best thing after Derrick Rose that this team has to offer. They're game-changers, those two together. So I'm sure what they're doing, what (John Paxson and Gar Forman) are doing, is they're brainstorming every scenario. What if we traded somebody else to allow us to keep Asik or if we let him go, who's available? What combinations can play to ensure we still have that defensive dynamic off the bench. I'm sure they're going over everything right now. They've been put in a really tough spot by Houston and that contract structure."

Despite Asik's defense, Kerr knows it would be a tough sell to pay that much money to someone who averages 3.1 points per game.

"When you're making $15 million a year and you're averaging four points a game, I don't care how good you are defensively, it just doesn't look great to the fans," Kerr said. "And Asik is never going to be a good offensive player. He's just not. He doesn't have that type of skill.

"So it will be tough to justify paying him that much money in three years. If the Bulls match it, they can be in a awful lot of trouble with the tax in two years, and he will not look anywhere close to what they're paying."

Even if the Bulls lose Asik, Kerr doesn't expect a dramatic drop-off in the team's success.

"Biggest thing for the Bulls right now is to stay patient," Kerr said. "I think everybody in Chicago is going to want them to make a huge splash.

"At this time of year you see all the signings and get excited and think 'What are we going to do?' The reality is the Bulls are really good. They have an excellent team and had the best record in the league the last two years. Derrick Rose is not going to be back early, but there's a great chance by the end of the season that he's playing at a really high level. I think they have to be careful not to jump to any conclusions and make a bad move."





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The health and fiscal issues affecting Dennis Rodman are a source of sadness for many who used to be close to the mercurial Hall of Famer, former teammate Steve Kerr said Tuesday.

Last week, the Chicago Tribune obtained court documents indicating that Rodman is "extremely sick" and "broke," which prevents him from being current on child and spousal support payments.

Kerr, who spoke with ESPN 1000’s “Waddle & Silvy” show Tuesday, was a teammate of Rodman’s with the Chicago Bulls from 1995 to '98. The two won three titles during that span.

“Yeah it does, it makes me really, really sad,” Kerr said. “Everybody on that [Bulls] team really loved Dennis and enjoyed him, and we all have a soft spot for him, and part of that is because of his vulnerability as a human being. He was always so willing to show his emotions, like he did at the Hall of Fame ceremony. You knew how much the game meant to him and how much the players on the team meant to him.”

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Steve Kerr knows what it's like to be a shooting guard alongside someone who needs to dominate the basketball, which is why he believes Rip Hamilton would be a great fit on the Chicago Bulls.

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Scottie Pippen had it all wrong when he recently compared LeBron James with Michael Jordan, said one former Chicago Bulls teammate.

"The irony to me is that LeBron is not Michael. LeBron is actually Scottie," former Bull and current television analyst Steve Kerr said Monday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He's so similar to Scottie in that defensively he was just a monster, could guard anybody, really more of a point forward than scoring guard. Scottie always loved to distribute the ball. That's really where LeBron's preference is."

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Steve Kerr told "Waddle & Silvy" that LeBron James is more like Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan, and the Heat star needs work on his offensive game this summer.