Derrick Rose’s time with the Cavaliers did not get off to a good start, and after deciding to take some time away from the team, there was plenty of speculation about the ex-Knicks point guard’s NBA future.

He wants you to know he has one.

Rose left the Cavs on Nov. 22, but rejoined his teammates on Dec. 4 and continues to rehabilitate an ankle injury from which he doesn’t have a timetable to return. Now he says he was never close to retiring, and people should know that the 2011 NBA MVP is in a good place right now.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not depressed. I’m good,” Rose told The Undefeated in a feature published Wednesday. “A lot of people think I’m depressed because of what I’m going through. It’s the total opposite. I learned from my mistakes three or four years ago when I put myself into a shell.

“And now that I am in this position, it’s only right that I learn from the best. I’m staying with my team, staying with my family, communicating and just being open.”

Rose spent last season with the Knicks and averaged 19.5 points per game, his most since 2011-12. He missed 48 percent of the games in his final three seasons with the Bulls because of injuries. He’s had five surgeries, which have robbed him of some of the Russell Westbrook-like explosiveness from his first three seasons in the NBA.

Then he joined Cleveland this offseason, only to walk away — but not for good, he says.

“No. No. That’s stupid,” Rose said when asked if he ever considered retirement. “I don’t want to even talk about that. But I’m just happy that LeBron [James] understood.

“People forget that my first injury was my ACL. A lot of guys would have walked away after that. I already had my contract and all that taken care of, so a lot of guys would have walked away after that. I’ve had five surgeries, and I had an eye [socket] fracture. I’m too far in to just walk away.”