Chicago Bulls: Will Derrick Rose Be Traded?

With the Chicago Bulls needing to rebuild this summer, will they trade Derrick Rose?

The Chicago Bulls have had quite a drama-filled season.

A new coach out of the blue, various complaints from players, an abundance of injures … all in all, 2015-16 has not been an easy run.

And unfortunately, after finishing the season ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 42-40 record, there is a lot of work to be done this summer. This, of course, is keeping the organization smack-dab in the middle of the media spotlight.

For the most part, Jimmy Butler has seemingly drawn the most attention so far. Between him calling out head coach Fred Hoiberg and the front office making comments that no one is safe from being traded, speculation as to what the star’s future holds has surfaced.

But he is not the only one with a question mark next to his name.

There are also questions whether teammate Derrick Rose will be sticking around for much longer.

Going into this year, Rose angered many fans by making comments about looking forward to free agency.

"“This whole summer I had tunnel vision. My mindset was just making sure that I was working out every day, and spending as much time as possible with my son. And focusing on those two things. Making sure my family is financially stable, as far as seeing all the money that they’re passing out in this league. Just telling the truth. Just knowing that my day will be coming up soon, and it’s not for me. It’s for P.J. and his future, so that’s what I’m thinking about now……when you talk about that much money the only thing you can do is prepare for it. I’m trying to prepare, not only myself, but my family. And I’m doing this all for my son. Like I said, I’m thinking about his future. Even though we’re alright, we’re comfortable, when you talk about that x-amount of dollars, I think it raises everyone’s eyebrows, so there’s nothing wrong with being over-prepared.’’"

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His rant was not only odd considering that no one had asked him about his contract, but also given that due to injury, he had not exactly been at the top of his game.

In 2011, Rose tore his ACL during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. It required surgery, and forced the point guard to sit out all of the next season. Unfortunately, he then tore his meniscus in 2013, and had surgery again; this once more meant that Rose sat out the majority of the season.

In 2014, it was revealed that Rose would need another round of surgery on his knee, but at least this time he only had to sit out a couple of months.

In other words, the one-time hometown hero played only 100 games over three seasons.

Therefore, the public was caught quite off guard when instead of speaking on how excited he is to finally be healthy once again and lead his team to the top, he focused on an upcoming paycheck.

Nevertheless, everyone was glad to see him back in action. And could not wait to watch the former MVP ball out.

Unfortunately, Rose did not look like the same player he once was. Minor but annoying injuries kept popping up. He did not seem to fit into the Hoiball system very well. And mostly, he just looked over it all.

Fans grew tired of him. The media came away with little positivity from his own mouth. Talk around the league was that maybe he would be better off somewhere else. For the first time, the idea of Rose leaving Chicago was no longer far fetched.

But while Rose seemed disinterested in the franchise, on paper, he did not have that bad of a season.

Rose averaged 16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game. In December, he posted a season-high 34 points in a quadruple-overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons, while he had a season-best game in a loss against the Denver Nuggets in February; Rose finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

So barring any more injuries, the 27-year-old is still productive.

Of course, there is another thing to consider: his current contract.

Rose is going to make $21.3 million in 2016-17.

So if the Bulls do want to trade him, they have to think about what they would get back in return. In other words, would he be more valuable to them on the team or as a bargaining chip? And given both Chicago’s current guard situation and who would be available for the team to try and poach, some may argue that the organization is better off keeping him around.

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However right now, nothing is set in stone. And there are new trade rumors regarding Rose, coming out every day. So as usual, it comes down to the waiting game.

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