Derrick Rose recently joined the Cleveland Cavaliers on a veterans minimum contract in hopes of rejuvenating his career and put himself back in position to win an NBA championship. After earning a lot of money on huge NBA contracts in the past few years, Rose has begun to turn his attention to winning rather than wealth. During his time with the Chicago Bulls, D-Rose was doing both at a high level when he was not struggling with injuries, earning a lot of money and achieving success in the regular season and somewhat in the playoffs too. These days, his focus is on getting to the NBA Finals, and have the chance to win a championship.
This is something he has never been able to do in his career up until this point. He is also looking to prove his worth and earn a more pricey contract after this season, and is ready to prove himself to a lot of people.
Derrick Rose is just getting to know his new teammates, but he has already shown some things to the guys in the locker room that they have never seen before. A lot of individuals on the Cavaliers roster have spoken highly of Rose, and are impressed with his abilities despite him suffering a lot of injuries in his career.
Channing Frye is impressed with Rose
As soon as Derrick Rose stepped foot on the practice court, he caught the eye of the 34-year-old veteran, Channing Frye. Although Channing is playful and usually easily amused, it is still rewarding for D-Rose knowing the power forward caught a quick interest in him.
In Frye’s 12-year career so far, he has seen a lot of talent enter the same gym he is in. He has played alongside some pretty special players including Steve Nash. But Rose brought a talent that he had not seen before. Channing spoke about D-Rose, and recalls the practice he first saw Derrick participate in:
“I called my brother after I saw D-Rose [in practice].
I said This boy is BBQ chicken every day… I have never seen a man so violently go to the rack like he does, and then loop-the-loop, and all of a sudden the ball floats up and just goes in every single time... His ability to pass is crazy. It’s so much better than I thought it was... I thought it was... screen... attack... finish.
But now, it’s like, he’s throwing passes over his head, behind his back. I think he sees the floor because we do have floor spacing.”
Channing Frye isn’t the only teammate to be impressed with Derrick Rose either.
Tristan Thompson believes Rose was a steal
D-Rose became a free agent after his season with the New York Knicks in 2016-17, and he could’ve chosen to play for any team he wanted, He could’ve gotten bigger contracts in other teams, but he chose to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers on a one year deal. Derrick’s contract with the Cavaliers is worth $2.1 million, over one year, and in the eyes of Cleveland’s star big man, this is a steal.
Tristan Thompson spoke about the Cavaliers acquisition of Derrick Rose, and his excitement for Rose and his upcoming season.
Tristan mentioned “he can still play at a high level,” in response to people that doubt the point guard’s abilities after facing a lot of injuries. He added, “We got a steal”. He finished by stating that the moves he sees Derrick perform are unique and similar to that of the previous point guard, Kyrie Irving. So Thompson has full faith that D-Rose will have a great season with the Cavs in 2017-18.
