It looks like a done deal that Derrick Rose will be a Detroit Piston, which may be a match made in heaven for both parties.
As of 2:00 p.m. on June 30, 2019, it is looking like a lock that former MVP Derrick Rose is heading to Motor City to play for the Detroit, as first reported by Frank Isola of The Athletic.
Rose's NBA accomplishments speak for themselves, as he not only won the 2010-11 MVP award, but is also a 3-time All-Star, a former rookie of the year in 2008-09, and two All-NBA team appearances.
The only problem with all those accomplishments is that none of them have happened recently, as even though Rose looked to be a perennial MVP contender all through the 2010s, as since he tore his ACL in the 2012 playoffs, he hasn't played more than 66 games in a single season.
Despite Rose's career taking a bit of a detour for the majority of this decade, he experienced a bit of a career vitalization this past season with Minnesota, where he averaged 18.0 minutes and 4.3 assists in 27 minutes off the bench, and also shooting a career-best 37 percent on 3-pointers.
The writing is really on the wall when it comes to this signing, as Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem was Rose's former agent. While the Pistons don't have a lot of cap space, they do more 12 million combined off of mid-level and bi-level exceptions which can go towards Rose's salary next season, and force them to pay the luxury tax for the 2020-21 season.
Because of a plethora of lower leg injuries, it's safe to say that Rose will never be that flashy, top-tier point guard that he was earlier in his career. MVP Derrick Rose is not about to be playing for the Pistons this season, but this point in his career, Rose clearly knows what he is.
In Minnesota, Rose thrived in a new role as being a spark plug off the bench, who can torture second units across the NBA with his speed, impressive agility when driving to the basket, and ability to get open shots for himself and his teammates.
While the Detroit Pistons' bench unit was formidable last season, shooters such as Langston Galloway, Tony Snell, and Luke Kennard could thrive playing next to Rose, who can get them open shots at a moment's notice. Ish Smith has been a reliable point guard off the bench for a few years now, but Smith doesn't possess the talent and upside to lead the team in scoring like Rose can.
The MVP-version of Rose is still around, as the Utah Jazz were well aware of on October 31, 2018. That was the night the Derrick Rose put up a career-high 50 points for the Timberwolves while thriving in crunch time and earning a win for the land of 10,000 lakes. That game and the emotional interview that took place afterward earned Rose the 2019 House of Highlights Moment of the Year award at the NBA Awards last week.
Being that star big men Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond aren't always reliable in crunch time, having Rose around to provide a spark and run pick-and-rolls to get these bigs open shots and help the team as a whole.
While injuries have partially robbed Rose of the athleticism that made him an MVP candidate earlier this year, posting a career-high in three-point shooting percentage means that Rose can succeed on offense even when he's not 100 percent healthy.
He can even excel when playing with fellow point guard and shot creator in Reggie Jackson, who can help suck the defense towards the lane on drives and give Rose many open opportunities from deep. If DRose can manage to improve his three-point stroke even more to over 40 percent, it can open up the Pistons offense to a level that they haven't seen this decade.
Should the Pistons follow through with the rumors and sign Rose later this week, the Motor City should embrace and toughness and grit that Rose embodies. The city of Detroit knows what it means to get knocked down just like Rose has, and celebrates heroes who help manage to get back up again. It wouldn't be a shock if he becomes Detroit's most popular athlete, and hopefully, he's perseverance can rub off on the rest of the Pistons roster.
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