Derrick Rose was, at one time, the brightest new star in the NBA. In 2011, he was the youngest player to ever with the NBA MVP award and it looked like he was going to be the next big thing. However, the former Chicago Bulls point guard suffered significant knee injuries that curtailed his career and kept him from fulfilling his promise.

With that said, Rose has fought hard to come back to the NBA and got his big break when he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. That didn't work out the way he had hoped and found himself traded mid-season to the Utah Jazz.

In a recent interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic, he said it was very awkward playing alongside LeBron James.

Playing with LeBron and the Cavs

In his one partial season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Derrick Rose averaged a career-low 9.8 points-per-game over 16 games played. He only started seven games and it ended up costing him as Utah immediately waived him after trading him and then he picked up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he only averaged 5.8 points-per-game over nine contests.

Rose said that he was just trying to make it back into the NBA and was looking for any chance he could get. However, the fact that it was with the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James made it very awkward for the former NBA MVP.

"I had to sign with a team that I had battled with for four or five years," Rose explained. "I played with a player I battled with for four or five years in LeBron."

Derrick Rose played for the Chicago Bulls for seven seasons and then the New York Knicks for one. Through that time, he battled the Cleveland Cavaliers when LeBron James was the star there and then battled the Miami Heat before that, also with LeBron at the lead.

Then, Rose had to learn how to play with James.

Derrick Rose now

The good news is that Derrick Rose is comfortable again. He is still with the Minnesota Timberwolves and has improved his numbers drastically this season while playing from the bench.

Rose is averaging 14.3 points-per-game and 4.9 assists while playing a respectable 28.4 minutes-per-game as the Timberwolves fifth man.

That is five points and nine minutes more than he got with the Cleveland Cavaliers, even working as a started alongside LeBron James for much of that time.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are also in the Western Conference, one game ahead of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, meaning Derrick Rose and LeBron James will be battling once again this season.

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