(670 The Score) The Knicks have declined veteran guard Derrick Rose’s $15.6-million option for the 2023-’24 season, according to multiple reports over the weekend, making him a free agent.
With that in mind, could there be a fit between Rose and his hometown Bulls? The hosts of the Mully & Haugh Show don’t believe so as the 34-year-old Rose comes off a season in which he averaged 5.6 points in 12.5 minutes across 27 games for New York.
“He only played 27 games last year – 27 games, he didn’t start one,” Mike Mulligan said. “I get there’s nostalgia, there’s Derrick No. 1 jerseys. I understand what happened – the pity of the injury and all the rest of it. He was an MVP, the youngest in league history. So I understand how people feel – he’s a native Chicagoan, Simeon kid, I get all of that. I just don’t know how it helps you from a basketball standpoint.”
Rose won the MVP award in 2011 and led the Bulls to strong success before a string of knee injuries derailed his career. Chicago traded him away in 2016.
Rose is likely looking at signing a veteran’s minimum contract, and the Bulls have open roster spots and a point guard situation in flux with Lonzo Ball expected to miss the entire 2023-’24 campaign.
Still, David Haugh doesn’t think Rose sitting at the end of the Bulls’ bench would be all that helpful.
“For the Bulls, I don’t think he could sit on the bench, be part of the rotation one night, out of it the next without being – not even a distraction of his own making but just being a huge symbol of the past,” Haugh said.
“I just don’t know if it makes a lot of sense for the Bulls to make that investment.”
Click here to listen to the full segment or check it out in the audio player above. It begins around the 23-minute mark.
Listen live to 670 The Score via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker