4. Derrick Rose
Before focusing on the young players, it is impossible to ignore the veteran who stepped in this season and captured fans’ hearts. Derrick Rose was a revelation before getting injured and slowing his dominance. He was having one of the more consistent seasons since his Chicago days, including the longest streak of 20-plus point games in his career.
Rose had shown that he liked the situation in Detroit and was focused on getting better with his teammates. The highlight moments are nice, but watching him lead is the true benefit. This is the value of having strong veteran leadership on a rebuilding team.
While this will eat into some minutes available to young players, as the loud Twitter fans will always remind you, leadership on and off the court is invaluable.
Teaching players how to be a professional and how to learn the game can accelerate their development. Setting the right mood and culture will make it so that the loss does not completely burn everyone out.
Rose made it abundantly clear that he wanted to be in Detroit at the trade deadline and that counts for something. John Henson seems to have a similar positive attitude after being brought in at the trade deadline.
If the front office can continue to use their cap space on a mix of culture-building veterans — while ideally absorbing assets — and taking swings on young players, then the rebuild will be off to a strong start.