Derrick Rose has never been a player who has lacked in confidence. In fact, even in recent years as he’s seen his production and efficiency falter in conjunction with his inability to stay on the court due to injuries, he still considers himself to be one of the top players in the league.
His confidence is admirable, I suppose, if not a bit odd. It began drawing attention in the summer of 2013, when he had just come off an entire season where he did not play following surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. When asked whom he felt was the best player in the NBA, he answered, simply, “Derrick Rose.”
Of course, as we all now know, the following season did not go as planned, with Rose suffering a torn meniscus in his opposite knee only 10 games into the season, and he has been battling various ailments ever since.
But — despite the last three subpar seasons, based on the standard he set for himself when winning the league MVP in 2011 — his confidence has never wavered. During last year’s playoffs, he once again made headlines when he doubled-down on his boast from two seasons prior, saying, “I believe I’m one of the best players in the NBA.” “Still?” he was asked. “Still,” he replied. (Ed. Note: He did say Steph Curry the best point guard in the NBA in January of this year.)
Statistics showed he clearly wasn’t, even if some of peers thought so. In a league overflowing with elite talent in the backcourt, guards who shoot 40 percent from the floor and 28 percent from three-point range — like Rose did last season — should not be considered among the top tier. Allen Iverson might’ve gotten away with it with an awful supporting cast in Philadelphia, but guards in the contemporary NBA need to place efficiency above all else, and still find a way to get everyone involved. AI is already from a much different league.
All of this leads us to wonder: What will happen in two years when Rose’s current contract with the Bulls ends, and he hits free agency? Clearly, he believes he’s deserving of another max contract. But should the Bulls be the team that’s willing to pay up, or should they let him walk?
If ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is to be believed, Rose’s relationship with the Bulls may not even last that long. Windhorst speculated that the break-up between the Bulls and their hometown hero may already be in motion, with Rose’s days in Chicago already numbered. He did not offer any specifics as to why that may be, other than to infer that Bulls management has become tired of having to deal with all the many dramas that have followed him off the court.
The most likely scenario has Rose remaining a Bull for at least this season, with the next seven or eight months acting as evidence in which direction his future goes from there. Put simply, Rose has no more excuses. If he wants another max contract in July of 2017, he will have to prove this year that he’s once again capable of performing like a top-10 player in the league, or even the best player on his team. When you hear Rose talk about his own game, it’s clear he believes he still is a top-10 player, with a skill-set on par with players like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Stephen Curry. In a way, he is. But the difference is that those three players bring it each and every night, whereas Rose has only shown the ability to do it every now and then.
LeBron doesn’t have games where he scores six points on 2-of-15 from the floor. For him, it happens maybe once a season. For Rose, it feels like it happens once every week. The early part of this season has done nothing to disprove that, with Rose scoring in the single digits during the last three games, which is the first time that’s happened in his whole career.
In the past, his long recovery from multiple major knee surgeries may have been a viable excuse for intermittent poor performances. But that excuse can no longer fly. Not if he wants to get paid.
And you can bet the entire league will be paying close attention.
