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Derrick Rose: 5 Best-Case Scenario Comparisons

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) reacts on the court in the second half of the game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Suns won 99-93. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) reacts on the court in the second half of the game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Suns won 99-93. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /
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Derrick Rose
January 5, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston (34) during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 117-91. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Shaun Livingston

The comparisons here are obvious. Rose’s plethora of injuries have been devastating because they’ve come one after another, each time destroying what Rose had worked so hard to rebuild. Shaun Livingston only suffered one major injury, but it was devastating enough to threaten his entire NBA career back in 2007.

It’s hard to compare completely different injuries, especially since one blown out knee is very different from an ACL tear and two meniscus tears. But if Livingston could come back from tearing his ACL, PCL and meniscus (not to mention spraining his MCL and dislocating his patella and tibio-fibular joint), there’s still some hope for Derrick Rose.

[WARNING: The video below is graphic, so only watch if you have a strong stomach.]

After all, Livingston had to rehab for months before he could even walk again. It took him awhile, but he eventually played 73 games during the 2010-11 season for the Charlotte Bobcats. Now he’s playing a vital role on the league-leading Golden State Warriors off the bench, providing perimeter defense and ball handling for the second unit.

Like Rose, Livingston is not a very good outside shooter. But he’s still a valuable player on a title-contending team thanks to his focus on defense, ball handling, distributing, and doing all the little things that teams need to win.

There are some sad takeaways that come with this comparison, obviously. The first is that for Rose to find success again, he will have to take on a diminished role, possibly with another team. The second is that Rose lacks Livingston’s wing span and size advantage at the point guard position, which skews his ability to have a Livingston-like resurgence late in his career.

But like the Miller comparison, if Rose can develop ways of scoring on point guards in the post, he still has something to offer the Bulls/another NBA team. Rose is a very good defender and a hard worker on that end of the floor, so even though becoming a Shaun Livingston-type is a steep drop-off from what we’ve all wanted out of Rose’s return, it might be the best he can ask for.

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