News of Derrick Rose’s knee injury cast a somber mood over the entire NBA on Saturday. At AmericanAirlines Arena, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and players Dwyane Wade and LeBron James expressed sadness for the former MVP, who will need surgery to correct a torn meniscus.

“I feel extremely bad for him,” James said. “I was actually watching the game last night and that’s the one thing that I feared the most, that he had hurt his knee pretty bad. And it sucks. I’m disappointed for him. I’m sad for him. Everything. The guy worked so hard to get back on the floor.”

Rose left the Bulls’ game on Friday at Portland’s Rose Garden after a non-contact injury to his right knee. He received an MRI in Los Angeles to confirm his torn meniscus. Rose tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in his left knee during 2012 playoffs. He then missed the entire 2012-13 season.

Depending on the extent of the injury, Rose could either have his meniscus removed, shaved away or reattached. Players usually can return from injuries sooner if the meniscus is removed but, in some cases, it can affect them later in their career, according to Wade. Wade had his meniscus removed after his first season at Marquette and said the procedure “opened me up to knee trouble and knee problems.”

Wade wasn’t given any options for different procedures in college.

“I wasn’t educated on it,” Wade said. “I didn’t know. I just knew it was hurting and I wanted it fixed. That was after my first year at Marquette and I never dealt with any injury until that time. It was all new to me and I wanted to get back on the court.”

Wade added that Rose should seek an expert before making a decision on what type of surgery to have, if Rose indeed has an option medically.

"The only thing you can do is hopefully the doctor that you choose will give you the best advice," Rose said. "You just hope the experts give you the best advice and you make the best decision for yourself."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra learned about Rose’s injury just before walking into his pregame news conference with reporters.

“That’s horrible news,” Spoelstra said. “As competitors, you have that in a certain box, but at the same time you want to see guys out there. You know how much he has put into getting back to playing and he is too good for the game to not be out there playing.

“If I were just an average fan and not working for the Miami Heat, I would tune into their games to watch Derrick Rose play. So hopefully it’s not too bad. Hopefully he can come back soon.”