Rose Will Be In MVP Discussion
As the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft, Derrick Rose came into the league with high expectations. He met those expectations by winning the league's Rookie of the Year Award. Rose took another step his sophomore season by being named to the NBA All-Star team.
Now in his third season, it appears as if Rose has made his biggest leap of his career, by putting himself right in the middle of the MVP discussion.
"I've written it once and other people have speculated," the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson said on the Danny Mac Show. "Obviously there's a long way to go this season, but he certainly has to be considered in the discussion [for MVP]."
LISTEN: K.C. Johnson On The Danny Mac Show
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While Rose has not only made a huge jump this season, the Bulls are also vastly improved. And that should help Rose stack up with other stars from around the NBA.
"You look at the top teams in the league," Johnson said. "The Celtics are obviously going to be there at the end, but don't really have the dominant star anymore. Because they have such perfectly suited roles for guys like [Kevin] Garnett, [Paul] Pierce and Ray Allen. Orlando is going to be up and down and Dwight Howard will probably have to be in that discussion as well. Deron Williams, from Utah, will certainly be in that discussion. Kevin Durant, at the end of the season will probably be considered. And the way Miami is going now, you have to believe [Dwyane] Wade or [LeBron] James, at the end of the season, will have numbers that will draw consideration."
The majority of the players that Johnson discussed were veteran players who have built up a reputation over several outstanding years. Rose, on the other had, is only in his third year and has burst onto the scene and taken the league by storm.
"The fact that Derrick is there," Johnson said. "And not just kind of assumed to be there, and definitely headed for his second All-Star appearance, it just shows how much this guy has grown at the age of 22, in just his third NBA season."
