Getty Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose is playing inspired basketball this season.
The T-Wolves’ leader in assists and their second-leading scorer behind All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, Rose’s rise back to high-level NBA productivity has been inspiring.
“Derrick has always been great,” Towns recently told me. “He’s an amazing player, an amazing teammate. You can’t say anything but good things about Derrick Rose. He’s probably one of the humblest people that I’ve ever met and it just speaks to his character.”
While Rose was not voted in this year’s NBA All-Star Game, his story has been inspiring.
“He has been a machine,” Mark Cuban told Basketball Society Online scribe Landon Buford.
.@drose has been a machine this season says @mcuban #Alleyesnorth #Derrickrose 🌹 #NBA #MFFL
“It is the all-time comeback season of comeback seasons except guys coming back straight up from injury. Shooting 45 or 44.7 percent or whatever it is ridiculous congrats to him.”
Rose went from top to bottom to on top again in a span of about two years.
The youngest player to win the NBA’s MVP award at 22, back in 2011, Rose was apart of a few Bulls playoff runs. Things would change when he tore both his ACL and meniscus.
Rose, 30 showed flashes of athleticism over the last couple of seasons in stints with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers.
He came alive in last year’s NBA Playoffs when he averaged 14 points per game coming off the bench for the T-Wolves. If you’re keeping score at home, Rose also shot an impressive 50.9 percent from the field, while also shooting 70 percent from downtown.
Rose re-signed with the T-Wolves this summer on a one-year $2.3 million deal. He’ll be a free agent this summer.
This begs the question: While Rose has leveled up this season, will the T-Wolves look to trade him at the NBA’s Trade Deadline?
“It’s possible,” Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
I don’t know if he’s an All Star this year, but he’s been playing like one. There’s a team that could use that kind of scoring punch. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Minnesota Timberwolves stayed rather conservative, hold on to pieces they should trade and try and make a playoff run and ultimately fail. I’m very curious. They could be a seller, I don’t think they’re a buyer. But they may be a team that just tries to play out their strength.
Rose’s productivity has not gone unnoticed. He’s gotten the support of his NBA brethren.
“When you’re somebody, you just don’t lose it,” Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker told me this fall on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
Kevin Garnett is rocking with D-Rose too! “I would definitely say he’s one of the top guards,” KG told me recently.
“He’s a great player, I’m a huge D-Rose fan,” Charlotte Hornets point guard, Kemba Walker told me.
“I’m happy to see him playing. I hope he has a healthy year, and that’s with all of this. If he stays healthy, you know what you’re going to get from D-Rose.”
Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford still recognizes Rose as one of the game’s elite guards.
“His athleticism is still there,” Crawford told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
He’s still as fast as any guard out there. He would have some practices where he’d just dominate and get to the lane at will, hit shots, hit mid-range shots and floaters, all the reasons people love him. And he can do all those things. He would just run back so nonchalant, like I could do this whenever I want. He didn’t say that, but his play was so easy for him, so I think that’s something he’s going to show more this year and people will be pleasantly surprised.