Video: Watch Derrick Rose Chase Championship Dreams in New Adidas Ad

After a season dominated by the Miami Heat and an offseason defined by the Los Angeles Lakers, could 2013 be the year of the Bulls?

Fans in Chicago are hoping as much, and the anticipation surrounding Derrick Rose's return from knee surgery has taken on a life of its own—or at least an ad campaign of its own. Adidas has made the most of its injured star, depicting the story of his recovery in a series of advertisements appropriately entitled "The Return."

Put together, the documentary-style commercials offer a glimpse into Rose's most recent challenge, putting it in the perspective of his career at large—a career that's still young despite already including an MVP award.

The latest installment, "Drive," reflects on Rose growing up in Chicago and the role his family has played in his rise to stardom.

Even before Adidas shed light on Rose's life, it was hard not to like this guy—at least what we knew of him. Unlike so many of his peers, the 24-year-old is hardly a media-magnet, and it's by his own choosing.

He's the first to praise his teammates and leads with a quiet humility rivaled only by Kevin Durant among young superstars. Though his play on the court is as exciting as it gets, that's where the flashiness stops.

It goes without saying, though, that the floor general's greatest value lies on the court itself. 

Rose took home his MVP award for the 2010-11 season, an eye-opening campaign in which he averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds. The subsequent season was disrupted by injury, limiting him to just 39 games.

It remains to be seen whether we'll see an MVP-caliber performance when Rose returns from his extended absence, but the Bulls will take what they can get.

Of course, lost in all this celebration of Rose's success and rehabilitation is that question of when exactly he'll return.

Minor detail.

Rose recently told NBA TV's Steve Aschburner there's a chance he might not even return this season, but all signs suggest otherwise. According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley, Rose "has been shooting jump shots since early September, but he usually tries to do it away from the spotlight."

A good sign to be sure, but shootarounds are still just one small step in a very long process.

The dangerous slasher is still working toward a point where he's comfortable cutting, and he obviously won't regain his explosiveness overnight. It goes without saying, any setbacks would make the process even longer.

While neither Rose nor head coach Tom Thibodeau is eager to attach a time frame to his return, ESPN Chicago reports that GM Gar Forman is "optimistic Derrick Rose will be able to play at some point during the 2012-13 season."

That's probably as much as we're going to get out of the organization for at least the next couple of months.

Until then, we'll just have to watch the commercials and imagine what might be.