No one can accuse Derrick Rose of lacking self-confidence. “Why can’t I be the MVP of the league,” Rose famously asked last September, before becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history last season. This year, he’s still not concerned with anybody else, and is now talking about bringing multiple championships to his hometown.
“If I won’t believe in myself, who will?” he told ESPNChicago.com on Tuesday night. “That’s how I always think of it. I always try to challenge myself. The idea is great, but it’s putting in the work. You have to really work hard if you want to win a title and I think we got all the pieces, starting with the front office, our owners, the coaching staff, down to the players. I think that we have a legit chance to win multiple championships.”
Haven’t we heard this type of talk before. “Not one, not two, not three, not four,” said LeBron James when he was introduced in Miami last summer. “Not five, not six, not seven.” So far, LeBron is 0-for-1 in South Beach, but the Heat certainly look like the favorites this season. And with Rose on the verge of signing a max extension that would keep him in Chicago for at least another five years, only one of these two teams is going to make it to the Finals – and that’s counting out Boston, New York and the rest of the Eastern Conference.
“There’s a lot of teams out there that have two superstars that didn’t win,” Rose said. To me, to win a championship, you need a team full of winners that’s willing to sacrifice and dedicate themselves to that team.”
If they’re looking for winners, Richard Hamilton is expected to sign with the Bulls sometime today. It’s no surprise that everyone around the league views Chicago’s biggest weakness is at the shooting guard position, and the addition of a Hamilton should help assuage those fears. If Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer aren’t going to get it done, there are also other two guards still available – Arron Afflalo, Nick Young and Michael Redd – that could step in. And if they are in a bind come March, Chicago can always make a run at J.R. Smith when he returns from China.
The pieces are in place. Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah in the frontline; C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik off the bench. They have Brian Scalabrine back, and rookie Jimmy Butler in the mix. And best of all, Tom Thibodeau at the helm.
What do you think? Can Chicago win multiple championships?
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