Derrick Rose isn’t known to be much of an active recruiter of NBA free agents. But that doesn’t mean he’s not interested in getting the Chicago Bulls to add more pieces.He is very competitive; and quite interested in making the team better. It’s just that he’s bad at talking. This isn’t news.
Rose is a less than effective and engaging public speaker, and as 2012-13 showed us (with the horrible way he and his camp handled the public information surrounding his rehab and return), impression management is certainly not his thing.
Nor does it have to be. He’s paid to be entertaining and good on the basketball court. He’s not paid to be a salesman or say interesting things. D. Rose isn’t interested in being a Bill Clinton level smooth-talker, nor is he interested in being everybody’s BFF. He’s interested in playing basketball.
So when he said he’s not interested in trying to lure Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love et al why is this a story? Why does this surprise you?
This is such a non-story that it’s ridiculous.
Without Derrick Rose as the centerpiece, things are going nowhere in Chicago. So his being healthy is the most important thing. His being 100%, and showing it, is the best way he can make the Bulls more attractive. That’s his form of recruiting.
“Derrick’s doing great, I think the thing that’s going to make it attractive is all the players that are along with Derrick,” Coach Tom Thibodeau said on NBA Draft night.
Derrick Rose will practice with the Chicago Bulls summer league team. Obviously, he will not play in summer league. But then you have Team USA basketball in the summer of which Derrick Rose will be a part, after all Thibs said that Rose is doing and feeling great. The USMNT will face Brazil Men’s in an exhibition game at the United Center on Saturday, August 16.
So you’ll get to see how Derrick Rose has responded to convalescence long before even the NBA preseason, or even Media Day, for that matter.
On to the Melo portion of the “story” and how it relates to Rose.
“My thing is if they want to come, they can come,” Rose said.
Rose says he respects Anthony’s game and believes they can co-exist.
“I love Melo’s game,” Rose said. “He’s a great player. Takes the game serious. He’s consistent. He shoots the ball great. I love his heart.
“I can play with anybody, no matter who it is. I believe I can play with anyone if they step on the court with me.”
But like he said, it’s just “not his job.”
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! The Postgame. He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, the History Channel and more. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)