Nobody likes it, but Kevin Durant is gone. Team USA has to shrug its shoulders and move on. But before the rest of the world celebrates, they should remember that there's another MVP in the roster: Derrick Rose.

While all the other stars have reasons for skipping the team, Rose has one reason for staying-he's hungry to play basketball!

From a tell-all feature from USA Today:

"I've been preparing for this for a long time," Rose tore his meniscus in his right knee on Nov. 22, 2013 but he has been cleared for full-court action since March. "(His Monday practice) is probably big to everyone else because they probably haven't seen me, but I dedicated my whole summer for this moment.

"No one has seen me in a long time. It's kind of weird. People are kind of like in awe to even see me going down the floor, like I'm handicapped or something...This is only the beginning of a long journey, a long grind."

Chicago Bulls coach and Team USA defensive coach Tom Thibodeau gave his full support to his star player: "This was the next step. To me, he's been out almost all three years, so I think this is a good situation for him to come back in because of all the talent. He doesn't have to play a lot of minutes, find your way, get over that hurdle of the rust you have to shake off, and I think he's ready for this... I feel he's going to make a full and complete recovery and he'll have a terrific season."

Of course, that would change because of Durant's departure. Rose becomes the de facto leader of the team. That sounds fine with him because he is inspired:

"Basketball is my life. I can't give up. I have a son who's looking up to me, and when he gets older and realizes what's going on, he's going to look back and hopefully that gives him a little bit of motivation knowing that I had to go through so much. I hope that pushes him to become a great individual."

Team USA's coaching staff just saw their jobs becoming infinitely more difficult but they have to be grateful because Rose's recovery could not have come at a better time.