It's a sad question to ask, but it seems very relevant these days. Statistically Derrick has been possibly the worst PG in all of basketball for the minutes he gets. His commitment to the game has seemed to waver a great amount and you get the feeling the team has moved on from counting on him to be an important cog. Their commitment to him these days seems to come from a lack of better options, not a belief in Derrick the player. It's not clear to me where Derrick will end up as a player, and it's even less clear what kinds of expectations he has for himself. Is he willing to accept that he won't be the player he once was and be able to transform his game to his new capabilities? No clue. So, let's begin this thread with two questions: 1). What do you see the endgame being for Derrick Rose and the Bulls? 2). What do you want to happen with Derrick Rose and the Bulls? Discuss.
Why is Derrick so much worse this season than last? I know he might have a vision issue or two, but that doesn't really seem like it could possibly be the issue at this point. What's so different this season? Last season was far from all-star level play with a PER of 15.9. But this year he has fallen off a cliff. Its not just him either. Gasol, Snell, Niko, Noah, Gibson.... they all have taken steps back. Why could that be? Some are young, some are older, some might have an injury or two, but the whole team is less productive than it was last season except for the great Doug McDermott and perhaps Butler. What changed?
1) At the moment I see Rose to be a player with about 15 ppg (with low FG%) and 5.5 apg. This can lead to a breakup between Rose and Bulls... 2) I want Rose to be a good to very good player again. Then he should back this quote from him (I think he is speaking about a championship and not about two three-peats): "Rose: "I want to be that guy. I want to be the reason why the Bulls are back to what they were [during the Michael Jordan era]."
I feel like you can't really talk about Derrick Rose's situation without looking at your options. Some random website called Sports on Earth that was first in a Google search ranked the starting point guards as follows: 22. Rajon Rondo, Sacramento Kings (will be a free agent in summer 2016) 21. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets 20. Michael Carter-Williams, Milwaukee Bucks 19. Deron Williams, Dallas Mavericks 18. Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons 17. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves 16. Ty Lawson, Houston Rockets 15. George Hill, Indiana Pacers 14. Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans 13. Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks 12. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls 11. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors 10. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs 9. Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns 8. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers 7. Goran Dragic, Miami Heat 6. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies (will be a free agent in summer 2016) 5. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers 4. John Wall, Washington Wizards 3. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder 2. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers 1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors What makes the situation with Rose hard is not his contract, or the commitment the franchise has made to him. The problem is that it looks like there's nowhere else to turn. Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Wall, Irving, Lillard, Bledsoe and Lowry are untouchable, and I don't think the remainder are likely to get you where you need to go. Do you guys see any name on this list who are both good enough to be a meaningful upgrade and available? The one name who intrigues me a little is Rondo, but the Bulls need a scorer. When I look at the bigs in the league, I see a ton of young talent who are ready to turn the corner and become a pillar on a competitive team. I don't feel that way about point guard. You're basically looking at Dennis Schroder, who has shot terribly this season. My take away is that I don't really believe in any of the other potential options (Rondo, Schroder) any more than I do Derrick Rose, and they both will demand similar level contracts I think this suggests that you have to stay the course and hope things will turn around, even if things looks dark. I think it also suggests that even if Rose plays lackluster ball through the remainder of the season, he might still fetch draft picks this upcoming summer, just because elite point guards are so scarce. I think you have to give Rose one more full season to see if he can get back on track, but if things stay the same, I'm all for an off season trade. This summer will be good a time to evaluate the future of the franchise anyway. Gasol's contract is up; Noah's contract is up; you will have a better idea of what you have in Mirotic and McDermott; you might have some idea of what you have Portis.
Wish I could help. Just a mystery I guess. Good news is that the team has the exact same 11-6 record they had after 17 games last season. This despite having the second-toughest schedule in the NBA so far this season. As for Rose, my guess is that the Bulls are done with him when his contract is up if not sooner.
The record is nice, but as you've said several times, its only the regular season. Some quality wins and some head scratching losses. The real puzzler is the near worst in the NBA offense by the coach the front office hired to juice the offense. "Hoiball" was not supposed to lead to one of the worst offenses the NBA. That and several players (Rose, Noah, Gasol, Snell,Niko, Taj) all taking steps back in production. Does Hoiberg know how to coach a top notch NBA offense? If so, why is the Bulls offense so bad and why isn't he getting the most out of the players so far, even compared to last season? Still early of course and he's learning how to be a NBA coach, given that he has not done it before.
All good questions.. Yeah, we'll have to see. As for the befuddling inconsistency, we were complaining about exactly the same thing last season. Note: I am not a "regular season doesn't matter" guy and never have been.
What do you guys think about playing Jimmy Butler at point long term? I find these lineups to be pretty interesting: Gasol/Noah/Gibson/Portis Mirotic/Gibson/Noah/Portis McDermott Snell Butler
Sounds like you're talking about PG on the offensive end, and if so, we're really talking about a Hardenesque "lead guard" sort of thing. Not only am I OK with it, I think it would be the obvious move if the current starting PG were to be replaced with a "3 & D" guard who could defend small-quick guards.
I waited a while before I answered the question asked. No he does not. We cannot trade him yet. we would if he could. He not an MVP player and is not even an all-star anymore. Just a good PG. We needed much more from him.
If you were to replace Snell with someone more capable playing at a high usage who had decent ball handling and playmaking ability, then maybe. As it is, I don't like it much.
