What is Derrick Rose's lower body made of? Whether it's ankles, knees, and last night a hamstring, it seems that anytime he plays, he gets hurt. What's even more concerning is his style of play and the aggression he plays with. He goes 100% all the time, which is what makes him such a great player and gives Bulls' fans heart attacks whenever he drives the lane. The question now becomes whether the injury plagued Rose is really the franchise player that the Bulls had imagined.
When he's fully healthy, he's arguably the best point guard in the league. He's at least in the top three with Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Unfortunately, you can't turn injuries off like in a video game. His first three seasons went by without any notable injuries. Notable awards collected during that time were Rookie of the Year, MVP, and a couple All-Star games. Then came the 2011-12 season. He had toe, groin, and back injuries, but those were pretty minor. They caused him to miss time in the regular season, but the Bulls still finished four games ahead of the Miami Big 3 for the number one seed in the East. The general belief was the Bulls would advance to the Conference Finals and meet up with the winner of the Pacers-Heat series in the second round.
Then came the infamous ACL injury in the first game against the Sixers. The Bulls were far and away the better team on paper, but I think the loss of Rose rattled them the rest of the series as they lost 4-2 to the eighth seeded Sixers. Still, this didn't and shouldn't have deterred any Rose or Bulls supporters. Major injuries happen, but the core of the Bulls was still intact, Rose had a full offseason to heal, and they were going to come back bigger and badder than ever the next season. Oh, what could have been.
Instead, he missed the entire 2012-13 season, only to come back during the 2013-14 campaign and tear his meniscus. This is when people really started to become concerned. He would now have missed the better part of three seasons with injury problems and hadn't played in a playoff game since the spring of 2012. In the meantime, the Bulls had gone through a revolving door of point guards who, to their credit, played admirably, but not well enough to get them to the NBA Finals. This season when Rose is on the floor, you can almost feel the anxiety of everyone in the stands. Anytime he takes a step, you quietly wonder if this is it. Is this when the injury returns?
With that in mind, it will be very interesting to see how the Bulls' front office handles the next couple of off-seasons. On the one hand, you have a former MVP and a guy who could point guard a championship team...when he's healthy. On the other hand, you have a walking injury risk who is as likely to put up 25 points in one night as he is to miss 25 nights with one injury. He's signed through the 2016-17 season, which is when a serious decision will have to be made. Is it worth it to keep Derrick Rose?
The main appeal with Rose, apart from his play on the court, was that he was the hometown kid. He played high school ball at Simeon, unfortunately left for Memphis (could have used him down in Champaign for a year), then was drafted by the Bulls, who had a 1.7% chance of getting the number one overall pick. This seemed like the pick of destiny, just without Tenacious D. The excitement that was there early on, however, has seemed to wane. A lot of fans were turned off by comments made this past week about how he thinks about life after basketball, though I thought that got blown out of proportion. That was more a case of Rose not saying what he said how he should have said it. He's not getting paid to talk, he's getting paid to play and that really came out in those comments.
Without strong local support for Rose, what is keeping management from allowing him to walk in a couple years? Prior to this season, the city of Chicago essentially forgave him for sitting out an entire season. If the Bulls had acquired Russell Westbrook, a similar player but with no local ties, would the leash have been as long? I would argue no. So now, from a purely business perspective, I'm not sure it makes much sense to keep him.
You can certainly adjust contracts, particularly with guaranteed money and incentives (like games played/started), to make life easier on you financially. The problem is that players are less likely to take those kind of contracts, particularly with Rose who will still be under 30 years old when his contract is up. There's also the fact that you miss out on any superstar point guard that would be coming out of the draft as long as you have Rose. This is why the Colts made such a great decision with the whole Peyton Manning situation. They could have kept him coming off neck surgery and he probably still could have given them four or five more years of quality QB play. Just look at what he's doing in Denver. By re-signing Manning, however, they would also be passing on Andrew Luck.
While there are no guarantees, Luck looked like the best QB prospect to come out of college in a while. Luck could have doubled or even tripled the amount of good years he could give the Colts over how long Peyton could give them. I don't follow high school basketball that much, but there's a decent chance that an attractive one-and-done point guard option will be available in the next couple of years. So do you take that guy who could give you double digit seasons of production, or sign Rose to a three or four year deal where he gives you spectacular nights along with stretches of injured time away from the court? Obviously it will depend on what the coming draft classes look like, but I would argue for taking the young gun over re-signing Rose.
A philosophy that I have in fantasy football is that bench points don't count. Actually, that's not a philosophy, that's a fact. It doesn't matter if Tom Brady throws for 700 yards and Calvin Johnson catches 8 TD passes if they're on your bench. It doesn't count, those stats don't matter. While Rose can't score from the bench in real life, he can continue to collect money that could be going to someone that will actually play. He might have been a former MVP and he might be able to average over 20 points per game, but, like fantasy football bench stats, those things don't matter if you're in the trainer's room.
This year is critical for Rose's future in Chicago. He needs to prove that his health won't be a concern going forward, even though he's already had a couple scares this year. The Bulls will make the playoffs, with or without him, but the playoffs are where he needs to shine. If he can lead the Bulls deep into the playoffs, maybe with a berth in the NBA Finals, I believe he will be forgiven once again. Heck, if he wins the NBA Finals I know he will be forgiven and he could retire that day and go to all the graduations he wants to. Pain free! If not, he might be exiled by the fans that once embraced him as the Bulls continue to try and find the next Jordan.
Matty O
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