Derrick Rose gets positive news on ankle injury, will miss several weeks

Derrick Rose exited Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings with an ankle injury, and he is expected to be sidelined for at least several weeks. However, the star point guard was fortunate enough to avoid structural damage.

An MRI on Rose’s injured ankle came back negative, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports. Detroit is expected to play it safe with the former MVP and reevaluate him in a few weeks, but Rose will make a full recovery.

Haynes adds that the Pistons are expected to now focus on developing some of their younger players, which could in turn lead to securing a higher draft pick. They have already traded Andre Drummond and lost Blake Griffin for the season with an injury, so they don’t have a whole lot left to play for. Detroit could also put in a claim for Jordan McRae, who was recently waived by the Denver Nuggets.

Rose has averaged 18.1 points and 5.6 assists in 50 games this season. He has looked healthy after battling injuries throughout most of his career, and there seemed to be plenty of trade interest in him surrounding the deadline last month. The 31-year-old is under contract with the Pistons through next season.