CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose's back is letting him play basketball again, and he said that despite reports, he's not looking to add any general manager responsibilities to his on-court workload.

Rose denied a report that claimed he asked Chicago Bulls management to push for a trade to land Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol.

"I heard about it after (Monday's) game," Rose said. "That's something I wouldn't say to anyone, that I need someone to come to this team or I'm trying to get rid of someone on this team. It was all false and that's something I would never do."

The idea of the trade was that Carlos Boozer and C.J. Watson would go to Los Angeles for Gasol. Rose has said repeatedly over the years that he's not comfortable recruiting players, but said he spoke to Boozer to clear things up.

"He should know, but I talked to him a little bit," Rose said. "But I think he already knew they were false, where it's something I wouldn't do to anyone, especially trade him to any team. It was all false."

Rose and Gasol are both clients of agent Arn Tellem, although so are nearly 40 other NBA players.

"I'm good with the teammates I have," Rose said. "I've always been saying that. The team that I have, we've been winning games, and we're not in the position to look to trade anyone right now."

Rose uncharacteristically didn't speak to reporters after Monday's win over the Atlanta Hawks, despite playing for the first time in six games. He played well, scoring 23 points with six assists and five rebounds.

"I wasn't frustrated," he said. "I was just tired of hearing about my back. I just needed a break. I'm sorry for what I did, I just needed a break."

Despite missing five straight games and being limited in two others with back spasms, Rose said he's not worried about the injury anymore and is pain-free. He said he's going to have to keep seeing a local chiropractor, Dr. Stuart Yoss, and do extra stretching exercises for the rest of the season.

"I've got to go see him after shootarounds, and on days off, just go over there for an hour so he could work on me," Rose said.

The point guard is headed to Orlando for his third-straight All-Star Game. He's starting for the second consecutive season.

"It's an honor to be in the game, but running around and doing all that other stuff is something I'm not looking forward to," he said.

Jon Greenberg is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com.