Can Derrick Rose Recapture Star Form In 2016?
The Future
With another year and $21.3 million remaining on Rose’s contract after this season, there’s a very good chance the Bulls’ starting point guard will once again be one of the most overpaid players in the league in 2016-17.
But with Chicago’s current season failing to come together, the consolation prize will be the next two months that the front office gets to put Rose under the microscope — with and without Butler on the floor. Early indications are that the Bulls will want to make this relationship a long-term thing.
Gar Forman on Derrick Rose: "The last month or so, he has taken huge steps forward. We’re optimistic he’ll continue to improve. "
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 18, 2016
That may or may not be in Chicago’s best interests once Rose’s contract comes off the books next summer (and yes, as much fun as it is to speculate about Derrick Rose trade scenarios, it’s highly unlikely Chicago would want to move him or be able to move him before then, even as an expiring contract).
It’s too soon to make any sweeping declarations in any way, especially since the Bulls’ roster could look very different next season based on what happens with free agents Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah this summer. If Chicago loses one or both, an attempt to retool the roster may change to completely blowing it up and rebuilding around Butler and rookie Bobby Portis.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
If that’s the case, Chicago would be very unlikely to pony up the kind of max money Rose is already thinking about, and they’re unlikely to do so even if they manage to reassemble a title contender for 2016-17.
Rose is still the most popular Bulls player since Michael Jordan and he’s become a Chicago icon. His injury history makes it harder to fault him for his more recent flaws as a player, and everyone really just wants to see this former MVP stay healthy and find the success that his body (and LeBron James) has prevented him from achieving.
Trading him or letting him walk in free agency would bring the Derrick Rose era to a depressing end and make him one of the greatest injury-related “What Ifs” in NBA history.
More hoops habit: 2016 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams
But nostalgia shouldn’t overshadow the sinking feeling that Rose may never recapture star status or blend well enough with Butler to justify the max money he’ll believe he deserves. That is precisely why these next few months — both with and without Butler on the floor — are so important to see if Rose has truly turned the corner again, or if he’s simply having a good couple of weeks.