Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are teammates on the Detroit Pistons. Furthermore, their NBA careers run parallel to each other; they got to this point in their respective careers in similar ways.
Number one overall draft picks
The Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose with the number one overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft. A one-year player at Memphis, Rose was viewed as a future star in the NBA given his explosive scoring and ball-handling ability.
The Los Angeles Clippers selected Blake Griffin with the number one overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft. A two-year player at Oklahoma, Griffin looked like a star in the making with his rim-rattling dunks and inside power.
Vibrant uprisings
Rose and Griffin were as advertised.
Rose became the driving force of the Bulls offense. He was a spectacle with the ball in his hands. He got to the rim off the dribble as quick as anyone in the sport, skied above the rim, and was an elite scorer.
In his rookie season, Rose helped the Bulls take the defending NBA-champion Boston Celtics to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. He followed up his rookie heroics by averaging an astounding 20.8 points per game in the 2009-10 season; he blossomed into a superstar thereafter.
With the same core plus Carlos Boozer, Chicago catapulted to the one seed in the East, and Rose led the way. Averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game, he was a force to be reckoned with on a nightly basis. Rose's prolific playmaking and late-game buckets helped him win the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player Award. One could argue he was the best point guard in the game, a notion he held up the ensuing season.
Griffin missed his rookie season due to a knee injury but didn't skip a beat once he finally hit the floor in 2010. From the outset, he was an electric scorer. Averaging 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, Griffin was among the most productive and impactful players in the NBA.
Griffin's athleticism is what garnered everyone's attention. Whether it be jumping over humans or jamming it in their face, he imposed his will by means of dunking on players of all sizes. The Clippers acquiring Chris Paul in 2011 only furthered Griffin's impact.
Paul and Griffin helped create “Lob City.” They were a sight to behold in the alley-oop game, and Griffin was a near-unstoppable force above the rim. The big man also had considerable handles for a player his size.
Deep-rooted injury history
Rose has one of the most heartbreaking injury stories in NBA history. Tearing his ACL in the closing minutes of the Bulls' 2012 Game 1 first-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, he had to sit out the remainder of the season as well as the entire 2012-13 season.
When he returned to the floor in the 2013-14 season, he looked rejuvenated and ready to return to his old ways. Unfortunately, Rose tore his meniscus 10 games into the season and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season. Then he was limited to 51 games due to injury in the 2014-15 season and 66 the season after.
To this day, teams tread lightly around his health. For example, the Pistons have given him a lot of nights off this season for rest.
As previously alluded, Griffin missed his rookie season due to a knee injury. Unfortunately, Griffin's injury track record runs far deeper than his rookie season.
From 2014-18, he never appeared in more than 67 games a season due to injury. These included hand, quad, knee, and elbow injuries, among others. This season he was limited to 18 games due to a knee injury. Griffin doesn't have the overwhelming hops he had just a few years ago.
Once one of the faces of the sport, Griffin's health gives one reason to believe that he's just a couple more major injuries away from calling it a career.
Surprising departures via trade
Rose's days as the headman of the Bulls offense were over, especially with Jimmy Butler's rise to prominence. That said, few, if any saw the Bulls trading the former MVP to the New York Knicks in 2016. Sending Rose, Justin Holiday, and a second-round pick to New York for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, and Jose Calderon — who was eventually traded — the Bulls were beginning a new chapter. Surprise: Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony are now teammates. Rose would end up in Detroit in the summer of 2019, agreeing to a two-year, $15 million deal.
In the first year of a five-year, $171 million deal, the consensus was that the Clippers were committed to Griffin for the long haul because, well, why wouldn't they be? He's Clipper royalty, one of the best players in the league, and the organization was investing max-level money in him. Then they took a 180, trading Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick in January 2018. Surprise: Blake Griffin is now the face of the Pistons.
Trying to get back on track with the Pistons
The names Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin don't resonate the way they used to. Once upbeat and formidable, the former number one picks are now productive players on the back nine of their careers; they're far from their old selves.
At the same time, that doesn't mean they can't be a vital source of offense and/or one of the best players on a playoff team. Rose is still an energetic scorer who can run an offense. Pistons executive Ed Stefanski said the team views him as a “leader.”
Meanwhile, Griffin is still an immensely talented player. He has impressive ball-handling ability, is difficult to slow down with a head of steam, and a player teams have to gameplan for.
The 31-year-olds have endured nearly identical NBA careers.
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