For a while there, it looked like Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau could turn into the next star-coach duo to lead the Bulls to the promised land after Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson combined for six titles in the 1990s.
But things happened and that path to greatness took a dark turn. Several Rose injuries and a falling out between Thibodeau and the Bulls front office closed any brief opening of a championship window. Thibs got the boot after the Bulls failed to get past LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the 2015 playoffs. A year later, Chicago’s native son was shipped to New York in a trade that shocked some fans and relieved others.
Back Together
Fast forward to the present, and there’s growing noise of a reunion between Thibs and one of his favorite pupils. According to a recent ESPN report, the Minnesota Timberwolves are considering Rose as a potential free agent target this summer.
“The Minnesota Timberwolves view Derrick Rose as a potential free agent target this summer, league sources told ESPN…It is unclear at this point which other outside teams besides the Timberwolves view Rose as a potential free agent target. Some rival executives believe the San Antonio Spurs may have interest in Rose, depending on how the free-agent market for point guards develops.” – Ian Begley
This is not the first we’re hearing of a Rose-Thibs reunion. The former Bulls coach, now serving as coach and president of the Timberwolves, reportedly engaged in trade talks with the Knicks before this season’s deadline. Those talks, which centered around Rose and Ricky Rubio, eventually stalled when the Knicks wanted an additional piece and Minnesota refused. With Rose now set to enter free agency, the negotiating table will be about his wishes rather than those of Knicks president Phil Jackson.
Priorities
Rose’s free agency tour will be fascinating. Once the youngest MVP in league history, the 28 year old is coming off yet another surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. (I think we’re approaching a baker’s dozen, Bob.) He infamously said before the 2015-16 season began that he was looking forward to free agency, because he saw all of the huge contracts being handed out to other star-caliber players. In January, while the Knicks were sputtering through a disappointing season, Derrick declared that he’d be looking for a max contract this summer. Who, exactly, would put those kinds of offers in front of him based on his performance (and many absences) in recent seasons?
Staying in New York is theoretically a possibility. After all, Rose said he’s open to the idea of re-signing with the Knicks. Jackson was complimentary of his point guard and the way he handled the tumultuous season in New York. The losing record was just the tip of that iceberg, too. There was drama between front office and the coaching staff, Carmelo Anthony trade rumors, the never-ending spotlight of impatient Knicks fans and media, and on and on. At one point, Rose got so fed up with all of it that he disappeared and fled to Chicago. Seriously, he went AWOL.
The Knicks are a bigger mess than the Bulls, and that’s no easy task. While Rose and Jackson have both spoken positively about the idea of him re-signing, it’s likely just lip service. Rose’s free agency goals and the Knicks’ current “plan” to build around a younger core (assuming they finally split with Anthony) don’t mesh well together.
Not All About The Benjamins
As for Rose’s goals? He changed his tune recently, and it’s not all about getting that max contract. Back in March, with the Knicks’ season already dead, he said he’s putting his free agency priority on finding a winning team.
“Not even thinking money. I’ve got more than enough money saved. If I stopped playing basketball now, I’ll be all right. I want to win. I want to be happy and feel at peace with myself wherever I’m at…I’m not going to negotiate with people where money is the No. 1 thing I’m asking for. I want to win.” – Derrick Rose
Despite many predictions that Thibodeau would instantly turn the young Timberwolves into playoff party-crashers, they finished just 31-51. Rose’s Knicks finished with the exact same record. But with a core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, Minnesota should be trending up while the Knicks appear to be going nowhere fast.
If Rose and his old coach sit down to talk this summer, can Thibs convince him the Wolves are primed to take a big step forward next season? What kind of money does Thibs think Rose is worth now, and will Derrick feel disrespected by that number? Where does point guard Kris Dunn – whom Thibs refused to trade after last year’s draft – fit into this equation? Will Rose follow through on his word and take less money to join a more legitimate contender like the Spurs?
Lots of interesting questions and no answers yet. It would make for a great story if they reunited and Rose had a career resurgence on a Thibs-led team that turned into perennial playoff contenders. But as Bulls fans found out all too painfully with these two, those dream scenarios rarely work out the way you want them to.
