Editor’s note: This column is written as part of a point-counterpoint. The other column, in favor of Rose sitting out, can be read here. 

Derrick Rose needs to conquer his fears.

At a certain, critical point, things such as this, that are easier said than done, need to be done for the right reasons before they are left unfulfilled for the wrong reasons. 

D-Rose is afraid of his knee, yes. His other fear, however, is that of losing. He’s made it pretty obvious that he doesn’t want to play unless the team has a chance to do damage in the postseason.

Things get hairy when you talk about “doing damage.” What does that actually mean? Indiana “did damage” last year when it took Miami to six games, even though the end result was the Pacers losing in the exact round they should have lost in. The 76ers “did damage” when they forced Rose into a drive that snapped a tendon in his knee. The Heat also “did damage” when they hurt everyone’s feelings on their way to an NBA championship.

Rose knows that, for the Bulls, “doing damage” this year wouldn’t mean winning a title. He also doesn’t want to play unless he can give more than 100 percent for the Bulls, meaning that in his eyes, the Bulls need more than a 100 percent Derrick Rose to do what Rose wants to do this season.

Rose doesn’t want to enter into the fold so that everyone can see this Bulls team for what it is, a second-round playoff team. If you hate losing, you hate losing progress, and Rose doesn’t want his team’s regression to be definite, or so it seems.

The risk he undertakes when he sits out the rest of the year is this: The Bulls’ current incarnation is unproven, either positively or negatively, meaning the formula will receive a second chance.

Hopefully Rose and Nate Robinson don’t speak to each other or have a relationship. Nate needs to go. Other beneficial possibilities for Rose include not knowing how to pronounce or spell “Nazr,” frequently mistaking Vladimir Radmanovic for a lost hot dog vendor, assuming Rip Hamilton has been promoted to assistant coach and placing bags full of cash labeled “amnesty money” all around Carlos Boozer’s apartment in hopes he’ll stumble on them and end his Chicago tenure the way he began it.

In other words, the team needs to cut some fat, and nothing short of a Rose return can make that evident. He, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah are a solid core. Kirk Hinrich, Marco Belinelli, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson are a near-completed elite second unit.

Teams rarely ever win titles the year they are assembled. The Heat lost to the Mavericks in the Finals, the Thunder have been climbing the ladder rung by rung since Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka met up and started playing ball. The trend in the NBA is that you have to lose in the playoffs to learn how to win in them. These Bulls would be wasting a year if Rose sits out and they don’t go for broke.

Picture this team losing a seven-game series without Derrick Rose. The result is expected, the blame lost somewhere in the ether outside the United Center.

Now picture it losing with Rose: the prodigal son charging ahead, dragging dead weight, foiled by an inferior supporting cast, grimacing from exhaustion and hopelessness, guarded by LeBron James, bedraggled and expended. The problems show themselves, the fat jiggles, and you know what muscles need to be worked out.

In all likelihood, Rose isn’t sitting out because he wants this group to get another shot. He’s sitting out because he hates the idea of enlisting in failure.

After Rose’s absence gutted Chicago’s chances last April, this season has long been considered a lost campaign for the Bulls. If Rose waits until October to return, his torn ACL might cost his team three years of contention instead of two.

Eliot is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @EliotTweet.