One of the more enigmatic NBA players of the last decade or so has been point guard Derrick Rose. Once one of the brightest young stars the league had to offer, Rose has since seen his career wither away thanks to a string of injury issues and inconsistency on the court.
Now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Derrick Rose certainly has his fair share of critics and he hears them. Many believe Rose’s skillset doesn’t warrant an NBA roster spot, especially with his shaky shooting stroke and almost nonexistent defense. However, Rose doesn’t care much about what outsiders have to say and conveyed this after a recent practice. Following from ESPN’s Nick Friedell:
Some interesting thoughts from DRose today after practice. pic.twitter.com/xcvzZX75O0
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) March 10, 2018
Once an electrifying offensive focal point, Rose has declined to an end of the bench option. Rose was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first half of the season but was traded to the Utah Jazz after only 16 games with the team. In those contests, Rose averaged 9.8 points per game and 1.6 assists. Rose was then cut by Utah before appearing in a single game.
Though the Minnesota Timberwolves could use some insurance on the wing with Jimmy Butler sidelined, Rose does little to address the issue.
In fact, Minnesota already rosters a serviceable backup point guard behind Jeff Teague in Duke product Tyus Jones so it remains to be seen how much Rose is even deployed though he told The Atheltic’s Tim Faklis he expects to be involved.
Derrick Rose on what he expects in terms of playing time/role: "[Thibs] wouldn't have me come here if he wasn't gonna use me."
— Tim Faklis (@timfaklis) March 10, 2018
With some glaring holes in his game that don’t mesh well with today’s modern play-style, Derrick Rose will have to claw his way back to relevancy. The Wolves are likely playoff bound and though Rose is signed for the remainder of the season, we may only see glimpses of him for the remainder of the campaign.
