Much like his mentor Doc Rivers, Tom Thibodeau is a loyal guy, and his nepotistic tendencies often result in reunions with former players along the different stops of his NBA journey. On Monday, we got another one when news emerged that Derrick Rose would once again play for Thibs in New York.
Thibs was the coach who oversaw Derrick Rose’s stratospheric rise when he first came into the league, a franchise-altering trajectory that made him the youngest-ever MVP and transformed the Bulls into perennial playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference in the early 2010s.
Now, Rose will reunite with his old coach on the Knicks, which will also mark his second go-round with the organization after a brief stint during the 2016-2017 season. That news prompted one of his former Bulls teammates to joyously joke that Thibs is recreating the roster they had during their heyday in Chicago.
Jimmy Butler reacts to Knicks getting Derrick Rose: Thibs getting the band back together pic.twitter.com/3gyXWEtIuj
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) February 7, 2021
And it isn’t just Rose. He’ll also join Bulls retread Taj Gibson in New York. Butler went on to say that they’re still missing a couple of pieces to complete the reassembly, but it’s safe to say Butler won’t be departing South Beach for New York anytime soon. The Knicks still have plenty of work to do to get where they want to be, but through the early part of the season, they’ve shown noticeable progress and have finally given fans a reason for optimism.
