After a miserable 2017-18 campaign, former league Most Valuable Player winner Derrick Rose had a tremendous bounce back year last season. Just recently, the 30-year-old signed a two-year, $15 million deal with his new team, the Detroit Pistons, and it appears that he is primed for another breakout campaign this term.
Last year, Rose earned just a little over than $2 million in a single-season deal with the Minnesota Timberowlves, and following a rather unexpected resurgence, the former first overall pick has definitely done well to up his stock entering his 12th year in the NBA.
The important question to ask now is whether or not Rose is worth $7.5 million per season for the Pistons. This is definitely far less than the millions of dollars being thrown in the direction of bona fide superstars in free agency, but unfortunately for Rose, such has been the effect of a myriad of injuries he has had to battle throughout his career. As a matter of fact, we believe that this very issue is what will determine the answer to the aforementioned query.
Last season, Rose had one of his best outings since his MVP year back in the 2010-11 season. The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 18.0 points (on a highly-efficient 48.2 percent shooting), 1.1 three-pointers, 2.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 0.6 steals in 27.3 minutes per contest. With how well he has evolved his game to match his current physical abilities — far removed from the explosiveness he once had as a fearless 22-year-old — there's not much reason to believe that Rose cannot carry on with his amazing resurgence. Except, of course, for one glaring issue.
One important thing to note here is that Rose played in only 51 games last year. As a matter of fact, in the past seven years, he has missed no less than 15 games per campaign. Rose also missed a handful of contests to end last season, following his camp's decision for him to undergo elbow surgery. Rose will be 31 next season, and surely, the wear and tear brought about by all the punishment his body has taken throughout his career will begin to show its ugly head even more.
As for the Pistons, a healthy Derrick Rose would be a tremendous signing. He would definitely be an upgrade from the outgoing Ish Smith, who is now on his way to the Washington Wizards. Rose shot a career-high 37.0 percent from deep last season, with his vastly improved three-point acumen being one of the biggest factors of his surge. This is far better than Smith's 0.8 treys on 32.6 percent shooting last season, and surely, is one of the reasons why the Detroit front office secured Rose to a deal on the very first day of free agency.
To summarize, Derrick Rose definitely has the tools to have another noteworthy season with the Pistons next term. He is a good fit in head coach Dwane Casey's system, and should be a proper backup point guard behind Reggie Jackson.
However, regardless of how cliche this may sound, the impact he will have on his new team will greatly depend on his ability to stay healthy for the better part of the season.
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