CHICAGO: For Derrick Rose, it’s a new beginning. And it starts on his home court.

The Chicago Bulls’ superstar will suit up for the first time at the United Center since his latest season-ending knee injury when the US national team meets Brazil in a tuneup for the World Cup of Basketball on Saturday.

Rose calls it the “start of a new journey.”

It’s a journey in which the former MVP point guard hopes he shows he still is a franchise player, one capable of leading a championship contender.

The Bulls are aiming high after a 48-win season in which Rose’s long-awaited comeback got cut short.

George still hopeful of returning this season

In Indianapolis, Paul George hopes to make it back on the court next season despite the “freak accident” that caused a compound fracture in his right leg.

On Friday, the two-time All-Star responded to questions for the first time since the gruesome image of him colliding with a basketball stanchion.

George says the leg broke in two spots and that a rod was inserted during surgery Aug. 2. Doctors placed pins in the knee and ankle to hold the rod in place. The leg is now protected by a hard cast.

Coach Frank Vogel and Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said Tuesday that George has not been ruled out for the season though they didn’t expect to have him.

George has been told he will make a full recovery.

Warriors’ Livingston out 6-8 weeks with toe injury

Meantime, Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston is expected to be out six to eight weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on the big toe of his right foot.

The Warriors said Friday that Livingston’s toe will be in a splint for the first three weeks of his recovery. The team says the procedure was performed Wednesday by Dr. Richard Ferkel at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys.

Golden State signed Livingston to a three-year contract worth about $16 million in July. The team says he was diagnosed with a sprained right big toe at the time and his foot was placed in a cast. The Warriors say Livingston was re-evaluated last week and it was determined that surgery was needed.