Derrick Rose Says Tom Thibodeau Compliments Are ‘Crazy’ Cause He Didn’t Get Any After Winning MVP


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Derrick Rose has played the majority of his career under the guidance of Tom Thibodeau. Their relationship began in Chicago, where Thibs was the coach of Rose from 2010 to 2015 and both of them saw the peaks of their individual success when together.

Thibodeau was eventually fired in Chicago in 2015 and Rose was shuffled off to Chicago as he struggled (and continues to struggle) to find his form after significant knee injuries, ending an era of Bulls basketball that saw plenty of playoff appearances but never lived up to the promise of what it looked like the two may achieve in their first year together.

When Rose was dealt from Cleveland to Utah at the trade deadline in the Cavs’ massive roster shakeup and subsequently released by the Jazz, the expectation around the league was that, eventually, Thibodeau would be the one to give Rose another shot. That’s what ultimately happened as Rose has joined the Timberwolves in a reserve point guard role.

Rose has, unsurprisingly, not had a major impact in Minnesota, averaging 6.3 points and 1.4 assists in 12.5 minutes per game, shooting 42.3 percent from the field in eight appearances. This was the expectation of most that have watched Rose this season in Cleveland, but it hasn’t dampened the hopes of Thibodeau that he can improve and regain some of the form that made him such a dominant player in Chicago pre-injury.

Thibs told reporters he thinks Rose will only get better as he gets more comfortable and that’s why he’s sticking with him in the rotation, which, as Rose noted, is a pretty high compliment from a guy that isn’t exactly a fan of doling out praise.

“It’s crazy to hear him say that,” Rose said. “That shows that I believe in myself — I know that because I know how much I put into everything. But to hear him say that, this is the same guy I didn’t get a compliment [from] after I won MVP my third year. To hear him say that, it means a lot.”

There may not be any story that encapsulates Tom Thibodeau as a coach better than this. Thibs is known for being a hard-nosed disciplinarian as a coach, so it shouldn’t come as a major surprise that he wouldn’t offer his star much in the way of praise for taking home the MVP. That also could have been a byproduct of Thibs being in his first season as a head coach and setting the tone for the expectations he had for the team and his star player.

Some former players have been rubbed the wrong way by that style, but others like Rose and Jimmy Butler clearly love playing for him even if at times they’ll get into disagreements and Thibs is also loyal to those players that have handled his tough love (if you can call it that) approach. The hope for Wolves fans is that loyalty doesn’t end up being a detriment as they continue to build into a hopeful contender.

(Via Bleacher Report)

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