If Derrick Rose is going to remain in the NBA, his next destination is most likely Minneapolis.
Marc Stein of the New York Times has reported Minnesota is not only a “natural landing spot” for Rose but that the Wolves “have great interest” and “will try to sign” him sometime before March 1.
The connection here, of course, is Tom Thibodeau, who has the final call on all personnel decisions in Minnesota. It is also a connection that runs deep.
Earlier this season, Rose took a personal leave of absence from the Cleveland Cavaliers and was reportedly re-evaluating his future in the NBA — mulling retirement at 29 years old. When Thibodeau was asked to comment on Rose’s sabbatical, he looked down and shook his head.
“I love Derrick,” Thibodeau shared. “I just want him to have peace of mind… I know what he has gone through and it has been tough. It’s a hard road. He’s a great person. He’s a great player.”
Shortly after opting to return to the Cavs organization, Rose was in Minneapolis to face the Wolves. He and his former coach met in Thibodeau’s office for an extended period of time. The 2011 MVP and 2011 Coach of the Year seem to have a relationship that transcends normal player-coach discourse.
While the Wolves may not have a clear need for a veteran point guard, this connection between the two — and Stein’s reporting — gives plenty of reason to believe this could very well be happening sometime before March 1. That news comes to the chagrin of much of the Minnesota fanbase. Sift through the depths of Reddit or Wolves-Twitter and the idea of Rose leads to, well, an unpleasant experience.
In many ways, those fans are warranted. Jeff Teague (33 minutes per game) and Tyus Jones (18 minutes per game) have quarterbacked the Wolves offense to third-best in the league while Rose has not been a positive contributor outside of the scoring column for years.
There just doesn’t seem to be a logical fit for him in Minnesota.
Because of this, if Rose is signed — and enters the Wolves’ rotation — pitchforks will come out. However, for this article, I am going to put mine aside.
In my opinion, the more important questions are:
- Who can Derrick Rose be for the Wolves?
- Is Good Derrick Rose still in there?
A Search For Good Derrick Rose
According to basketball-reference.com’s Game Score statistic, Rose’s “best” game of the past three months came in a Jan. 26 Cleveland victory over the Indiana Pacers. In that game, Rose came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting while playing 15 minutes.
Bad Derrick Rose is a known commodity — if you need a refresher, check here, here, or (Wolves context) here. Instead of re-writing those articles, I decided to pick out the rosiest-colored Rose glasses I could find, sat back and watched “Good Derrick Rose” in that game. This is what I found:
Rose’s Role
Rose was strictly the backup point guard. He played a seven-minute stint in each half while Isaiah Thomas rested. For a Wolves-centric example, Rose’s role and style was a mix of Jones and Jamal Crawford.
When the ball was in LeBron James’ hands, Rose was relegated to off-ball duty — spotting up on the perimeter.
Again, in the Wolves’ context, similar to when Jones plays alongside Jimmy Butler.
This probably isn’t a great utilization of Rose’s skill set — a career 29.7 percent shooter from 3 — but it did show a willingness to play a role that is not ball-dominant. This is a plus.
When James was off the court, Rose assumed the lead ball-handler duties. These possessions were often a parsing of the defense to find an isolation that was exploitable.
That Rose-Frye action was reminiscent of Crawford and Gorgui Dieng.
Rose’s two stints were impressive in their effectiveness but perhaps more importantly served as a reminder that if Rose were acquired he wouldn’t need a heavy workload to find comfort.
Rose’s Athleticism
If nothing else, Rose definitely still has his straight-line speed. When the Cavs would run the break and the ball wasn’t in his hands, he would hit an impressive stride almost immediately. Rose can simply outrun players similar to the ways a wide receiver takes the top off the defense when going deep.
When the ball was in his hands on the break — sticking with the football analogies — he looked like a running back hitting the A-gap. His strides left and right were powerful and set up his ability to hit the hole when it presented itself.
If New York Knick Derrick Rose is the last thing on your memory, this type of drive is a welcome sight. When he was in New York, Rose sacrificed some of his reckless abandon in pursuit of maintaining health.
A muted Rose, who relied on craft and pivots more than athleticism was not an effective player.
In theory, a smaller role — and fewer minutes — allow Rose to play with an abandon that once made him great. At least it did against the Pacers.
Rose’s Shooting
According to the Cleveland broadcast crew, Rose has worked extensively on his jump shot over the course of this season. He had a player development coach (Phil Handy) assigned to him at practices and before games simply to work on his shot mechanics.
While the stroke does look a bit robotic, it is a definitive improvement over his shot in New York that converted 13 total 3s in 63 games a season ago. Those two jumpers came on back-to-back possessions and were followed up by a corner 3 the following time down the floor.
This was clearly Rose’s best run of offense this season, impressive nonetheless.
Rose’s Defense
On the defensive end, Rose was less flattering. Though his body language signaled “defense is important to me,” that thought process didn’t bear out in his actions.
Whatever athleticism Rose had on offense did not translate to the other end. His stance was an awkward crouch and he played with weak instincts against Indiana.
Multiple times the defense would start moving and Rose’s movement would follow a half-second late — almost as if he were being pulled by a string.
Whenever a screen was involved was an adventure for Rose.
The Cleveland defense, as a whole, was patently awful so they didn’t do him any favors — but Rose was part of the problem.
Why Sign Rose?
Thibodeau signing Rose and inserting him into the rotation would be an indication that he believes the Rose from this game can not only be duplicated but improved upon.
Given the play of Teague and Jones, there are fewer other explanations for a potential signing. The only other that I can think of is playoff experience. If this summer’s acquisitions of Butler, Gibson, Crawford, and Aaron Brooks are any indication, this matters to Thibs.
The question is: At what cost?
Beyond the statistical notion that playing Rose over Jones may not be warranted there is also the long-term picture that has to be assessed. Jones becomes a free agent after next season. Signing Rose is the opposite of a vote of confidence in Jones’ future.
While Jones is not a star and probably never will be, he is the third prong of the Wolves young core, alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Butler, Crawford and Gibson could all be on their way after next season when their contracts expire and Teague the season after that.
In the not-so-distant future, this team becomes Towns and Wiggins’. In that future, Jones is one of the only remaining pieces of insulation. Is signing Rose in the name of playoff experience worth potentially alienating Jones and causing him to bounce in a year?
These are the questions and calculations that come with not only being the head coach but president of basketball operations. If Thibs does sign Rose it will be an indication that he believes he can manage the potential downsides.
After all, he is the coach and knows his players better than, well, I do. The reality is that the decision is Thibodeau’s alone. He wanted full-control of basketball-related decisions for situations just like this. Clearly, this is his team.
Just as it is Thibodeau’s prerogative to sign Rose it is also the fanbase’s prerogative to pull out the pitchforks — and they probably will. But maybe, just maybe Good Rose is still in there — he was against Indiana three weeks ago. MVP Rose is long gone, but part-time bench player Rose has proven to exist.
Perhaps this suggests patience with the mutiny; we have been wrong before. Maybe this is yet another lateral move and not the end of the world. Personally, I don’t know — maybe it is. But, hopefully, this is just Teague for Ricky Rubio 2.0. Here’s to hoping.
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