Just announced today, Derrick Rose signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Interestingly enough, he is joining former coach, Tom Thibodeau, and former players, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson. It was with this coach and team that he had his best season ever, in his rookie year, averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game while leading the Chicago Bulls to the best record in the NBA and the Eastern Conference Finals. Rose went on to receive the NBA MVP that year, being the youngest player to ever win this award.

Can the former MVP help this young team with serious potential?

Watching Derrick Rose play in his prime was a sight to see. People from Chicago thought that this was the second coming of the greatest, Michael Jordan. Watching this 6'2" guard dunk on people and lead his team to victory was enough to give you goosebumps [VIDEO]. When he tore his ACL in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, Chicago fans were heartbroken. He has not been the same since this injury, both mentally and physically. From Chicago, he was traded to the New York Knicks, to the Cleveland Cavaliers, to the Utah Jazz, and finally, to the Minnesota Timberwolves. His tenure with the Cavaliers was short-lived, with only 16 games played.

The question is — how big of a factor will he be?

Rose has the opportunity to play with a team that has potential, with players like; Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Jamal Crawford, and Jeff Teague. This young team has the ability to compete for NBA titles in coming years, with such a great lineup, and disciplined coach in Tom Thibodeau. While history says Rose will not be able to do much with this team, some think that reuniting him with old friends may re-kindle a fire within.

What kind of role can he play on his new team?

Rose has proven to be an effective scorer as well as an excellent floor general, making others around him better. With the plethora of talent on the Timberwolves' roster, he can do well with this team, if he can stay healthy. Rose would most likely be playing backup Point Guard to Jeff Teague, with the opportunity to work with Crawford on the second unit and increase the efficiency of the Timberwolves' bench play.

According to ESPN, Rose seems to be hopeful in his new role with the Timberwolves, telling reporters, "I know the game. I'm not a selfish player. I'm not here for stats or anything like that. I just want to win and help this team and franchise win." Thibodeau also seemed optimistic about working with Rose again, telling reporters, "We just thought he could help the team — that's what our expectations are. Come in, be a good teammate, try to help us win," also according to ESPN. It will be interesting to see how well Rose can play with this opportunity to play with one of the growing powerhouse teams in the Western Conference.