Rose shows progress; Bulls host luncheon

Here’s the daily Derrick Rose ankle update:

He showed some progress during Wednesday’s early morning practice. He ran again and made some cuts on his sore right ankle for the first time since suffering the injury on Oct. 2.

“I did a lot of cutting drills and high skips -- I couldn’t do that at first,” he said. “So every day it’s improving.”

Rose also described what he needs to overcome before returning to practice.

“It hurts. I can’t push off right. I’m not that explosive. I can’t jump that high now,” he said. “Layups, it kind of hurts when I come down. I’ve just got to take my time and let it heal right before I go out there and hurt it again.”

Coach Vinny Del Negro suggested there’s almost no chance Rose will play in Friday’s preseason finale against Washington at the United Center, but Del Negro is more concerned with the ensuing four days of practice leading up to the Oct. 29 season opener against San Antonio.

Rose made it through the first week of training camp and double sessions, played countless pickup games with his teammates before camp began and the Bulls don’t have many new faces, anyway. So even if Rose practices just once or not at all, he shouldn’t have a problem fitting into the lineup against the Spurs. Better to let the injury heal as much as possible since the real games have yet to begin.

TIP-OFF LUNCHEON RETURNS
Like Jannero Pargo, the Bulls annual tip-off luncheon disappeared for a year, then returned. It took place Wednesday afternoon at the Hyatt Regency Chicago and drew a good crowd.

Television announcer Neil Funk served as the emcee. General manager Gar Forman and coach Vinny Del Negro spoke, then Funk interviewed a few players as they sat at the head table – same format as in the past.

Usually, there are a few good lines worth mentioning. Nothing stood out today, although the players seemed to have fun.

Brad Miller made a joke about how he’s trying to help Joakim Noah but quickly gave up on guiding the third-year center’s mental approach. When it was Noah’s turn to speak, he feigned anger at Miller’s “cheap shot” and for the second time in preseason, called Miller a duck. Why? No one is quite sure.

REAL REFS COMING BACK
There are various reports going around that the league and referees union have agreed to a new deal. If ratified, the veteran NBA refs should be back on the job by Opening Night.

When the preseason began with replacement refs from the D-League and WNBA, I expected the results to be comical and the real refs to gain leverage in contract negotiations.

There have been issues around the league, such as fines given to Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy and Charlotte’s Larry Brown. There was a crazy scene at Madison Square Garden on Sunday when a replacement ref gave Macabbi Tel Aviv coach Pini Geshon his second technical foul in a game against the Knicks. That’s an automatic ejection in the NBA, but Geshon refused to leave the court, causing an eight-minute delay.

I’d have to say, though, during the Bulls’ seven preseason games, I never noticed the replacement refs. They seemed to do a decent job. So who knows if the real refs gained or lost leverage during the preseason lockout?