Brian Scalabrine is covering Boston's playoff run for Comcast in New England now that the Bulls have been eliminated.

But Scalabrine would prefer a second career as a coach instead of in the media.

“What I’ve realized as I’ve got older is that coaches have a lot of control over what goes on, but it’s hard,” he said. “In the NBA, sometimes you get dealt a bad hand or you’ve got a team that turns on you.

“That didn’t seem like a life that I wanted to live or a road that I wanted to go down. But with talking to our coaches (with the Bulls) and even with Doc (Rivers), it’s more about the relationships you build. Doc’s relationship with Kevin (Garnett) and (Rajon) Rondo and even me, who never really played much — those are bonds. I still have a bond with Doc. I think that’s the thing that’s kind of pulling me back toward (NBA coaching). It’s that camaraderie that you get with a team in basketball.”

Scalabrine has also considered coaching college basketball.

“You know, I really like college. I really do. But it didn’t seem that nowadays players are leaving the NBA and getting hired by colleges. Then again, Fred Hoiberg is doing really well at Iowa State, and colleges are starting now to try to run more NBA-type sets.

“So it used to be that the college game was far different from the NBA style, but now it’s starting to get more mixed together.”

C.J. Watson has undergone surgery on both feet for plantar fasciitis. 

"It was hard," Watson said of playing through the condition. "I couldn't do all the things that I'm usually capable of doing. But I knew with Derrick (Rose) out, I had to give the team what I could."

Watson underwent the same procedure last summer.

Bulls team surgeon Dr. Brian Cole provided an assessment of Derrick Rose's recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"While he will hopefully be at a very high level in 12 months, it still may take slightly longer to be at his pre-injury level," Cole said. "That's not uncommon in athletes of this caliber."

"Lots of athletes come back and play at a high level but not necessarily initially at the level they were pre-injury. Some get it at six months. Some get it at eight. It might take three years. It depends on the muscle physiology, confidence issues. All that plays a part."

Cole won't recommend that Rose sit out the entire 2012-13 season.

"There's actually a lot of therapeutic benefit to starting with early minutes when it's safe," Cole said. "You have to play to play. All these muscle patterns have to kick in. You can do that off the court informally. But there's a lot of benefit to playing. Whether he has to go 40 minutes, that's a whole different story. Just getting out there and playing when he's able, that's when his exponential growth is going to come.

"The good news is he's an incredible athlete. The other good news is he's an unbelievably hard worker who wants this more than anything. We're not going to rush him. The most important thing is all of us feel comfortable based on specific parameters that he's ready to go as we advance him. If he's not ready, we just delay. If he's ready, we move him to the next stage."

The Bulls will pick up their option on Tom Thibodeau's contract for the 12-13 NBA season.

The two sides will also begin extension discussions this summer.

"Obviously, we value Tom greatly," GM Gar Forman said. "We value what he brings to the organization and what he brings to the team and think he's one of the finest coaches in the league and we're hopeful he'll be our coach long-term.

Thibodeau said an extension is not foremost on his mind.

"I'm not worried about that," he said. "Those things take care of themselves."

Derrick Rose underwent successful surgery on his left anterior cruciate ligament on Saturday.

Rose is expected to miss nine months.

Rose sustained the injury in Game 1 of Chicago's first round series against Philadelphia.

The Bulls' players are hoping the front office keeps the team together as it is currently constructed.

Chicago was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs following injuries to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

"The unfortunate part of this year is we didn't measure up against the teams we wanted to measure up against," Noah said. "But I personally believe this group can compete against anybody and beat anybody.

"We had tough breaks throughout the year. That's unfortunate but it's part of the game. You learn from being injured and the hard times. That will make the good times even better.

"As a player, you can only control what you can control. We just lost. I think it's important for everybody to regroup mentally and make another run at it. Because you know what? Derrick (Rose) is going to come back.

"It's adversity. But it's just another challenge for us, like (Tom Thibodeau) always says. We are very privileged people doing what we love to do. Let's get better this summer, come back hungrier than ever and make a run."

Chicago owns team options on C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver.

Omer Asik is a restricted free agent, but the Bulls intend to match any offer he receives.

Boozer said he wanted to "come back a better player, all around, inside and out, defensively, offensively, a better leader."

Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer want to keep the Bulls intact despite a disappointing finish to the regular season and a six-game loss to Philadelphia.

"The unfortunate part of this year is we didn't measure up against the teams we wanted to measure up against," Noah said. "But I personally believe this group can compete against anybody and beat anybody.

"As a player, you can only control what you can control. We just lost. I think it's important for everybody to regroup mentally and make another run at it. Because you know what? Derrick (Rose) is going to come back.”

Boozer is aiming to “come back a better player, all around, inside and out, defensively, offensively, a better leader" after finishing with a disappointing 1-for-11 shooting performance in the final loss to the 76ers.

"Our team will get healthy and we'll be back and we'll be very good and we'll be very hungry," Boozer said. "Wouldn't you love to see us at full strength, completely healthy when the playoffs start? We haven't had that yet, so hopefully we'll get that next year.

"Any time you lose and you don't reach your goal, it makes you more determined. Hopefully, everybody will have a great summer. We're saying our prayers for Derrick as he approaches his surgery coming up. We'll start the season without him for a few months, most likely, so hopefully everybody comes back with that hunger. We can hit the ground running and start new."

Luol Deng insists he will play in the Olympics even if he needs surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.

“I just know that I’m looking forward to playing in the Olympics,” he said. “I’m excited about it. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, and I’m going to prepare myself for it.”

Deng tore the ligament earlier this season and decided to play in pain rather than undergo surgery.

“Honestly, my whole career, it’s the toughest thing I’ve done, and when I look back at it, I’m glad I did it,” Deng said. “I really hope, in the long run, it’s going to make me a better player. I learned a lot of things to be able to do that in the NBA, but I’m glad I made the decision. We had the best record, and we were going into the playoffs with the best team, so it was definitely a great decision. Unfortunately, other things happened.”

If Deng undergoes surgery, it will be after playing for Britain in the London Olympics.

“I haven’t really ruled out not getting the surgery or getting it,” he said. “I just haven’t made that decision. I just know that I’ve got the Olympics ahead of me. Since I was a kid growing up, it’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of, and the fact that it’s in my hometown that I grew up in, in a country that gave me the opportunity to even be here, I’m looking forward to it.”

Taj Gibson promises to be available for Game 6 at Philadelphia on Thursday, but Joakim Noah remains doubtful.

Gibson sprained his right ankle in Chicago's Game 5 win on Tuesday.

Noah has been recovering from a severe sprained left ankle.

Joakim Noah missed Chicago's Game 5 win, but has been making marked improvement after spraining his left ankle in Game 3.

Noah walked to the Bulls' locker room on Tuesday without wearing a brace, though he did have a slight limp. 

Noah may return for Game 6.