Kobe Bryant was planning on directly speaking with Derrick Rose before he left the United Center Monday night and vowed he planned to offer the youngest MVP in NBA history the benefit of all his veteran knowledge.
"It's unfortunate," Bryant told ESPN of Rose suffering his second season-ending knee injury in as many seasons back in November. "But you have two options: One is to lay down and not do anything about it and the second is to get up and get to work. I think the second one is more appealing to him for sure."
One thing Bryant insists Rose has going for him is his association with coach Tom Thibodeau, whom Bryant also regularly worked out with when he was in high school in Philadelphia and Thibodeau was a 76er assistant.
"I don't know if he's changed much," Bryant told ESPN of Thibodeau. "I haven't been in a locker room with or been on the practice floor to see him. I can only remember what he was like when he was working me out and I was at the practices and stuff like that. He was really, really intense. I don't know if he's scaled back much at all."
Thibodeau still remembers those times as well. It's part of what still leaves him in awe of Bryant's abilities and accomplishments.
"Just his drive, the way he studied the game," Thibodeau recalled of his time with a young Bryant. "You could see the talent. It was a high school guy playing -- he'd play with the college players then he'd play with the pros. He was in the gym all day. I think because of his dad (Joe Bryant) having been a pro, he was exposed to the pro game from a very early age. But his will and determination to be great and never satisfied, he had that in him from the beginning.
"Even now you still see the way he approaches things. He's gone through the early years in his career and wasn't satisfied. And then the middle and now he's getting towards the end, and just great will to win. Very intelligent, very driven, and those type of guys, they're always going to be great. I'm sure this is a challenge for him to overcome, but everything he's faced he's always had the ability to get past it."
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