CHICAGO (670 The Score) – If he could do it again, former MVP point guard Derrick Rose would have a piece of advice for himself as it related to his Bulls tenure from 2008-’16 in which he was usually the toast of his hometown.
“In hindsight, you always wish you would’ve cherished things a little bit more,” Rose said Wednesday evening as his Knicks prepared to play the Bulls at the United Center.
“I wish I would’ve danced a little bit or something. (Like) Ja Morant or something, you know what I mean? I would’ve gave a little dance. But seriously, you know how it is. You get older, and you look back at it. The times that I didn’t go out to concerts or go to dinners when I had all the time in the world to do that. That’s something I didn’t do, and that’s something I would’ve cherished doing when I was here.”
Rose then chuckled when the irony in his comment was pointed out. It was Rose, after all, who was celebrated when he didn’t showcase any dance moves while being introduced at the 2012 All-Star Game as so many other stars did. Fans reveled in his no-nonsense approach.
“True, true,” Rose said before turning more serious. “You know how it goes. You know just giving your all and being appreciative of still just being here and what we did in the past.
“It’s been a blessing. It’s been a total blessing coming back. They make you kind of think about or reminisce about the older days when I was playing here (in Chicago)."
Rose, 34, is averaging 6.4 points and 2.0 assists in 13.6 minutes across 21 games for the Knicks this season. He has fallen out of the rotation in recent weeks, but he has kept a positive attitude and has taken on a mentorship role for the Knicks’ younger players, coach Tom Thibodeau said. Publicly, Rose is handling the situation as well as he could.
“It’s always going to be there,” Rose said when asked if he still has the joy for the game. “It’s about getting in a routine, and my routine deflects any bad moves or bad vibrations if I do have a thought (like that). Me coming in here, just getting a routine and staying within my routine, always make sure I’m good.”
Where Rose’s career might go next remains a mystery to him just as it does outsiders. The Knicks hold a $15.6-million player option on his contract for 2023-’24, which they’ll almost certainly decline.
“I don’t know,” Rose said. “I feel good, though. I want to be able to walk away whenever I want to walk away and smile while I’m doing it. Right now, who knows. As long as I can move around, that’s all people want to see and see how many games I play. It’s not about stats. They just want to see how many games I play.
“I don’t know, I really don’t know. I want to stay here (in New York).”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
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