Westerlund: New Era Dawns For The Bulls With Derrick Rose's Exit
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) – It's the dawning of a new era in Bulls basketball.
In a move that brought a combination of shock, sadness, wistfulness, resignation, understanding and delighted hope for a different future, the Bulls on Wednesday afternoon traded former MVP and hometown son Derrick Rose to the Knicks in a blockbuster five-player deal that netted Chicago guard Jerian Grant, center Robin Lopez and point guard Jose Calderon. In addition to Rose, the Bulls shipped out wing Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round pick.
And just like that came an end of a journey in Chicago. The Bulls were the only organization Rose had ever known in his eight-year professional career. Save for a one-year pit stop at Memphis in college, Chicago had always been the primary home for Rose, a Simeon product.
Emotionally, this was a difficult move. Business-wise, it had to be done in management's mind as they desire a "younger" and "more athletic" roster.
"It's hard," Bulls general manager Gar Forman said. "Derrick has meant a lot to this organization and to this city and to this team and has had to overcome a lot over the years with all the injuries to get back to the point he was. But in putting our plan together, we felt as a first step this really made sense for us."
The 27-year-old Rose's exit was spurred by injuries turning him into a shade of his former shelf, the team's debacle of a 2015-'16 season and Rose's inability to co-exist well on the basketball floor with All-Star wing Jimmy Butler. While Forman didn't acknowledge that directly, he emphasized a need to better equip coach Fred Hoiberg for his preferred space-and-pace system.
"We need to find players that will fit the style of play that Fred wants to play and fit some of the players we have on our team," Forman said. "In making this trade, we feel it's the first in that direction."
The Advocate Center on Wednesday presented a scene markedly different from so many others that had pertained to Rose over the years. There were no smiles, as there'd been when the Bulls selected him No. 1 overall in the 2008 draft after landing lottery luck. There were no tears, as there'd been when Rose broke down at his MVP acceptance speech in May 2011 while thanking his mother for support. There were no suits and ties, with Forman casually strolling up to the podium at in jeans and a plain blue button-up.
There was no Rose, of course, as he's been in Los Angeles. As of late Wednesday afternoon, the Bulls hadn't even been able to connect directly with him. They got his voicemail when they tried to call. Instead, they delivered the news to agent B.J. Armstrong.
"The sense I got is Derrick will be excited about New York," Forman said.
Rose crashed onto the professional scene by winning Rookie of the Year honors in 2008-'09. Before the start of his third season, Rose was asked about his goals and responded, "Why can't I be the MVP of the league?"
Then he went out and accomplished just that, becoming at age 22 the youngest player to ever win the MVP award in 2011 and captivating fans with his fearlessness, rarely seen explosiveness and highlight-making abilities.
It was on April 28, 2012 that Rose's career arc changed for the worse. It was that day when he tore his left ACL on a drive to the hoop late in the fourth quarter of the top-seeded Bulls' playoff opener.
Rose was never the same, missing the entire 2012-'13 season, taking criticism late in that campaign for not coming back for the postseason after team doctors had medically cleared him. It was a sign of the drama to come and the dark, unfortunate injury-plagued path that awaited.
Rose then tear his right meniscus in November 2013, ending that season after just 10 games for him. He had a third knee surgery in February 2015, getting his right meniscus cleaned up again.
Rose played in only 39 percent of Chicago's regular-season games over the past four years as he endured grueling rehab work so often. While acknowledging the difficult work, Rose publicly kept his spirits up.
"Knowing Derrick as I do makes this trade a hard one," Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "Everyone knows him as the local kid who became MVP for his hometown fans, but not everyone got to know like I did. While he is a terrific basketball player, he is an even better person with a tremendous heart."
For the Bulls, the trade of Rose was filled with so much meaning. It was a nod toward building around Butler in the coming years, though Forman stopped short of calling the Bulls "Butler's team" as he said the organization would continue to listen to all offers.
"This is all our team," Forman said.
"Obviously, Jimmy being an All-Star is our best player, but I don't think you go as far as saying it's this guy's team. It's everybody's team."
It was also reflective of the Bulls' fondness for Grant, the 23-year-old guard who was selected 19th in the 2015 draft. The Bulls had hoped Grant would fall to them at No. 22. Grant averaged 5.6 points in limited time as a rookie.
"He's good in transition, with pace and we think he's a good pick-and-roll player," Forman said.
The addition of the 28-year-old Lopez, a capable rim protector, strongly hints at the exit of veteran Bulls big man Joakim Noah in free agency. Forman indicated the Bulls will sit down with Noah on July 1, but it's hard to see the wisdom in having redundant pieces.
"Very solid center who is a rebounder, a defender, he can run the floor, high makeup and character," Forman said of Lopez, who averaged 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds last season. "He fits the type of guys that we want here."
Five years ago when the United Center was roaring as Rose was honored with the MVP award before a playoff game following a 62-win regular season, no one could've imagined the day would come so soon when he didn't fit the Bulls.
That it did, in such unfortunate, dramatic fashion, will always leave regret and thoughts of what could've been.
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
