Rose takes court at USA mini-camp; David Lee a long shot

Derrick Rose has kept a low profile this summer. But he was back on the court Thursday for the opening practice of a USA Basketball mini-camp in Las Vegas.

Rose is one of 22 young players hoping to get an invite to join the squad for next year’s FIBA World Championships and the 2012 London Olympics. The NBA’s rookie of the year made it clear he’d like to be on the medal stand at the next Olympics and probably has a decent chance of joining the team. The mini-camp will conclude Saturday with an intrasquad game at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Bulls.com writer Sam Smith drove up from his home in Arizona and spoke with Rose. The second-year point guard addressed the controversies from earlier this summer, when he was accused of an improper SAT score by the NCAA, then apologized for flashing apparent gang signs in an old photo that made its way to the Internet.

“I took the test,” he said on Bulls.com. “I didn’t do anything wrong in Memphis. With the gang sign, I was just joking around with my friends.

“This whole off-season I really was most worried about getting my jump shot better. I can’t (worry about) what they are saying. I’ve been shooting every day, just trying to get better so I can have a consistent jump shot. I’m staying in the gym for like 700, 800 shots.”

That’s very good news for Bulls fans. Rose has also worked on creating body contact on drives to the hoop so he’ll get to the foul line more often. He’s been in Los Angeles for much of the off-season and has a trip to China planned for August.

He’s also staying out of trouble in Vegas, which is easy to do when you’re just 20 years old.

“I’m too young to do anything here in Vegas,” Rose added. “If I’m standing by any (gambling) tables they kick me out. I did that in high school when we were out here playing AAU and they almost kicked us out of the hotel.”

DAVID LEE TRAIL IS COLD
ESPN.com mentioned Thursday that the Bulls could end up with Knicks restricted free agent David Lee in a sign-and-trade. The Bulls actually tried to move up in the draft to get Lee when he came out, but the 6-10 power forward isn’t likely to land in Chicago this summer.

According to a couple of league sources, there isn’t much going on with Lee and the Bulls. Dozens of teams remain interested, according to his Chicago-based agent, Mark Bartelstein.

It’s easy to say Lee is a hard-working overachiever who will never become a star, but he averaged 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds last season, which is pretty darn impressive. The best thing about Lee joining the Bulls would be no more long, uncomfortable post-game hugs with former Florida teammate Joakim Noah. If you see a guy every day, no need to hug, right?

It just doesn’t seem likely the Bulls would give up Tyrus Thomas or Kirk Hinrich for Lee, or fill the power forward spot they’re supposed to be saving for Carlos Boozer or Chris Bosh. If the Bulls are involved with Lee, it’s probably as part of a multiple-team trade.

As I’ve mentioned before, Boozer is the most likely acquisition this summer and Thomas would probably be enough to get it done. But Utah is working hard to trim payroll in any deal, so it’s tough to say how things will turn out.

By trading Hinrich, the Bulls could conceivably add Boozer and still have cap room to chase a major free agent next summer, but they’d need to get a quality guard in return as sort of a fallback in case free-agency doesn't pan out. That’s one reason Portland has been mentioned as a possible trading partner, since the Bulls could get Steve Blake or Jerryd Bayless in the deal.

It will be interesting to see what the Knicks do with Lee. If they want to have cap room to add two major free agents in 2010, they can't really afford to give Lee what he's worth.

BLAZERS AFTER ANDRE MILLER?
The New York Times reported late Thursday that Portland plans to pursue Philadelphia unrestricted free agent Andre Miller. If the Blazers were to sign the veteran point guard, their interest in Hinrich would probably end.