Former Chicago Bulls MVP-winning point guard, currently playing with the Detroit Pistons, Derrick Rose got emotional in a shoutout to his hometown.
Former Chicago Bulls superstar point guard and Windy City native Derrick Rose is one of the best to do it at the position in franchise history. Rose was a true hero for the Bulls, and just in the city of Chicago in general, during his hay day playing for this team. And he is making a nice rebound in the NBA over the course of the last two seasons with the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons.
It’s nice to see D-Rose doing so well, even if it is with a division foe. He ran into one of the more difficult strings of knee injuries in recent memory of any star in the NBA over the last few decades. That’s what cost him his superstardom with the Bulls, and wreaked so much havoc during his time with the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
On more of a limited workload the last couple of seasons, Rose really found his way. He still offers a lot of value and could remain a Sixth Man of the Year award contender for a long while. It’s hard to believe, but he’s only just 32 years of age heading into the 2020-21 season. Rose’s first knee injury roughly eight years ago feels like it happened 15-20 years ago at this point.
However, Rose will still be remembered in the city of Chicago by most as a basketball hero. He is a Windy City native that he a lot of bright years with the Bulls. And while the end of his run with the Bulls could’ve gone much better, most fans in this city have let that go for the most part by now.
Rose seemed to be grateful for the city of Chicago in a recent Instagram post where he got pretty emotional in the description from this weekend. Here’s just a little bit of what D-Rose had to say in his post on social media over the weekend.
"I love you. I appreciate you. I cherish you. I value you. I’m proud of you. Where I’m from people don’t hear that enough. You have to remember it’s not the individual.. it’s the environment mixed with pain and that hood mentality. Where I’m from you can’t show NO real love or empathy.. because where I’m from that’s a sign of weakness. And by you being vulnerable by expressing real love your life can be taken away just like that. Shorty you have to BREAK the cycle. The numbers not adding up."
Maybe one day down the road, a reunion between the Bulls and Rose will be warranted. But for now, it seems like he’s best fit in a smaller market with less pressure on his shoulders to lead the way, like with the Pistons.
Rose has one year left on his current contract, worth around $7.5 million per year. And he definitely earned that contract the last two seasons. During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Rose played in 50 games (starting in 15 of them). He averaged 18.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks.
The three-time NBA All-Star selection, 2010-11 NBA MVP, 2008-09 Rookie of the Year award winner, and one-time All-NBA Team selection, is at a nice point of his career. He’s proving his value in a big way still and could for at least another three or five years.