Cavaliers' Derrick Rose: Could return during upcoming road trip

Rose (ankle) could return during the Cavaliers' upcoming five-game road trip, Cleveland.com reports.

Rose has been sidelined since early November with a sprain and bone spurs in his ankle, but he's progressed in his recovery and was running full-court drills at Friday's practice. "I haven't had any pain, I haven't had any setbacks," Rose said. "If anything I've been progressing every day and every week, so I'm on the right track." It's unclear when, exactly, Rose could return to the Cavs' rotation, but coach Ty Lue implied that Rose will take minutes, and perhaps games, away from veteran Dwyane Wade, who the Cavs will attempt to preserve for the playoffs. "I think playing D Wade on a lot of back to backs has been tough for him," Lue said Friday. "Some games where he doesn't feel great, but we don't really have the extra ball handler to sit him. So when D Rose gets back, he'll definitely help with that and help with D Wade getting his rest and being able to feel good on the floor." When Rose returns, he's unlikely to hold enough of a role to warrant fantasy ownership, particularly considering the Cavs will presumably have Isaiah Thomas back on a full-time basis at that point.