Derrick Rose On Exit From Bulls: 'Surprising' But 'Never Stung'
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Back at the United Center for the first time since being traded to the Knicks in June in a move that marked the end of an era in Bulls history, Derrick Rose on Friday evening reflected on how what was once a storybook tale in his hometown ended much less ceremoniously.
Rose admitted he was surprised by the trade, believing he "for sure" had one more year in Chicago, the last on a max contract he signed in December 2011. To hear Rose tell it, he didn't feel much else emotionally regarding the end of his eight-year run with the Bulls, who drafted the Simeon product No. 1 overall in 2008.
"It never stung," Rose said Friday ahead of the Bulls-Knicks matchup. "It never stung. If anything, it was surprising, coming from my hometown. The fact that just being traded, it's a process that sucks. It comes along with the business."
The trade of Rose was made with a 2015-'16 season in the rear-view mirror that unraveled for the Bulls and ended without a playoff berth for the first time since 2008. Since then, the Bulls have rued a lack of leadership and chemistry a year ago. Recently, All-Star Jimmy Butler acknowledged to CSN Chicago that players weren't on the same page in the locker room, and Joakim Noah, another former Bull now with the Knicks, said earlier Friday that it was time for
Rose emphasized that there's "no bad blood" with anyone in the Bulls organization but cited the losing ways of 2015-'16 and his own personality as a bad fit for providing the team with what it needed in the tougher times of Fred Hoiberg's rookie season.
"People just didn't understand me," Rose said. "I didn't let them. We was losing. I held everything in. I didn't voice my opinion the way I wanted to. The way that I expressed it was being quiet. I'm an introvert. I was just quiet and just thinking about things."
In September, Rose made a comment indicating Bulls fans took him for granted, saying they "got used to me" during his tenure in Chicago that was highlights was becoming the youngster MVP in NBA history in 2011. On Friday night, Rose struck a similar chord when asked to revisit those comments.
"They'd been seeing me since sixth grade," Rose said of Bulls fans. "They'd seen me in my prime, when I was a young player, just a raw player out here playing. And they didn't get a chance to see everything that I'm working on now. I love the way I'm playing now.
"Sometimes with fans, they want to see results right away, especially when you play for a franchise like this, with six championships in Chicago. They want results. They want playoffs and they want rings. I understand that. That's just how they felt. And that's how I felt. I felt like there was no patience on both sides."
Rose is averaging 16.3 points on 44.6 percent shooting and is adding 2.5 assists for the Knicks, who are struggling at 1-3 early on. On the other side, the Bulls are off to a 3-1 start that's been highlighted by an offense that's sharing the ball well.
"It's good that they have chemistry though," Rose said. "They're playing well."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and coversthe Bulls. He's also the co-host of the @LockedOnBulls podcast, which you can subscribe to on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
