A Guide To The Deadline: Buying Or Selling The Biggest NBA Trade Rumors
By Jon Shames
Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose, after struggling to stay healthy — and eventually, effective — over the past few seasons now finds himself in an excellent position.
With All-Star Jimmy Butler set to miss the next month or so with a knee injury, Rose will get the opportunity to lead this Bulls team as “the guy” once again.
Rose, after an impressive January (17.6 points, 47.1 percent shooting, 30 minutes per game) has struggled to stay efficient in February, but his averages of 19.4 points and 6.8 assists are an encouraging sign; he’s getting more confident, and more aggressive.
The Bulls were already struggling, even with Butler, and unfortunately, don’t appear poised for a championship run this season — at all. With that said, Butler’s injury has made Rose far less expendable than he was before. As the current seventh seed, the Bulls are going to need some heroics from their former MVP to stay relevant in a tight Eastern Conference while Butler recovers.
What’s more is that Rose’s contract is set to pay him a whopping $41 million over the next two seasons, which makes him a tough sell. For better or worse, the Bulls are likely going to be stuck with Rose until his contract expires — or, at the very least, for the rest of this season.
Verdict: Sell
Next: Horford