Bulls: Derrick Rose reminds Chicago passing on him was a bad idea

Despite coming out on top in a 112-106 victory over Detroit, the Chicago Bulls should be feeling remorseful about not signing Derrick Rose this summer.

Don’t look now, Derrick Rose returned from the brink of death (at least, in the NBA), and emerged stronger than ever. In Friday night’s contest against the Pistons, Rose lit the Chicago Bulls up for 23 points on an efficient 8-for-13 shooting off the bench. He also accumulated 7 assists and 3 steals, doing everything in his power to nearly will Detroit to a stunning comeback victory.

While he may have not been victorious, a resounding statement was still made with his performance. Rose is back.

And that didn’t always seem like a foregone conclusion. Rose took a hiatus from basketball in late 2017 to decide if he still had the passion necessary to play the game at a high level. Four major knee surgeries and a constant battle with bone spurs will do that to a man. After being dealt to Utah and immediately waived, Rose’s career appeared in lost in limbo.

But in the summer of 2018, Minnesota offered the olive branch to allow Rose one last opportunity to fight his way back into the league. He did not disappoint. With the Timberwolves, Rose delivered career-defining moments like a 29-point second half performance and game-winning shot over the Suns, or a career-high 50 points to seal a close game over the Jazz — the same team that previously cut him from their roster.

Now, Rose has captured that momentum in a bottle and taken it with him to Detroit. He is in the midst of the best stretch of basketball he has seen since 2012, the same year as his last All-Star Game appearance.

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Across six games, Rose has averaged 20.8 points and 6.3 assists per game on the bench unit. Despite not being a reliable threat from 3-point range, he has still managed to post an incredible 62.0 true shooting percentage. He is also averaging the most points per possession of his entire career. Among all players to log at least 50 minutes so far, Rose has achieved the 15th highest Offensive Box Plus/Minus (OBPM) in the league.

But he’s not just a one dimensional scorer either. Rose has been an unbelievably improved playmaker on this Pistons roster. Here’s a crazy stat: 52.1 percent of his teammates field goals come directly from a Rose assist, when he’s on the court. That’s the second best assist percentage in the NBA, behind only LeBron James himself (54.9 percent).

Keep in mind, Rose is putting up these numbers on a comparatively cheap salary of $7.3 million. The Chicago Bulls on the other hand, dished out a three-year, $30 million contract to current starting point guard Tomas Satoransky.

Satoransky has struggled mightily in his short time in the Windy City, posting just 6 points and 4.7 assists per game. More concerning, he has been a net negative on both ends of the floor, seen by his -2.4 OBPM and -2.1 DBPM. Due to his struggles, many Bulls fans are already calling for unproven rookie Coby White to close out games.

Across their first six games, Chicago has repeatedly gone through stretches where nobody can seem to buy a bucket, particularly in late-game clutch scenarios. Having another genuine shot creator like Derrick on the court would likely have made Zach LaVine‘s job much easier and probably tilted at least one of the Bulls’ three close losses in their favor.

Like we recently saw with Luol Deng, an eventual reunion with D-Rose is probably still in the cards sometime in the future. But it is rather disappointing to watch the last years of his prime wash away in Detroit instead of playing his heart out once again for the hometown team.