Jerry Reinsdorf said Saturday that he will not be tempted into rushing Derrick Rose back from a torn ACL.

"I'm not going to let him back until the doctors tell me that it's absolutely safe for him to come back," Reinsdorf said. "I made that mistake with Michael Jordan years ago where I think we let him come back too soon. It worked out OK, but it might not have. This time I'm not going to make that mistake. Until the doctors say he's 100 percent and they put their reputations on the line, he's not coming back."

Rose tore his left ACL in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and underwent surgery on May 12.

"The doctors told us that it would be eight to 12 months from the time of the surgery," Reinsdorf said. "Surgery was the middle of May. That means the earliest possible time he'll be back would be the middle of January. If it's 12 months, then he'll miss the whole season. We just don't know. The reports are very good. They say he's ahead of schedule. He's doing all the rehabbing he's got to do. We'll see. In the meantime, I think we're going to have a pretty decent club."