Witnessing a great comet is a rarity.
A celestial body that burns so brightly that it can be seen by all without a telescope as it lights up the sky.
And then it doesn’t. It eventually fades and disappears completely.
That’s what Derrick Rose was for the city of Chicago. A once great comet that erupted out of the Englewood area, gave the Bulls organization light that it didn’t have for over a decade, and burned bright for four years.
Then it all but faded into darkness.
On Thursday, for the last time.
After requesting a buyout of the final year of his contract with Memphis on Monday, Rose, 35, announced that he was retiring from the NBA after 16 seasons.
Not a surprise at all considering what an afterthought he became on three different rosters since the 2020 season, and now for Rose the final chapter of his legacy is no longer in his once very dynamic hands.
Did he leave enough of an impact on the Bulls to have his No. 1 jersey retired? Is he statue worthy? And the big one: Did he do enough to earn a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame?
All tricky to answer.
Drafted No. 1 overall out of Memphis in 2008, Rose’s impact was felt immediately. Rookie of the Year in the 2008-09 season, Rose was playing an athletic brand of basketball seldom seen from a point guard. Raw and violent at times, it needed a bit of refining.
Enter Tom Thibodeau.
The long-time assistant was the perfect head coach for Rose, understanding the generational gifts he was born with, but also what he needed to improve on. By the end of their first season together, Rose averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game, named the youngest MVP in NBA history.
All was seemingly right in the Bulls universe.
They lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals that season, but they had youth and time on their side. And they had Rose.
The NBA can be cruel at times, however. So can life.
That was never truer less than a year later. On April 28, 2012 – a day that will live in infamy for many Bulls fans – Rose crumpled onto the court in pain during Game 1 of the first-round playoffs against Philadelphia. News that his left knee injury was in fact a torn anterior cruciate ligament spread quickly over the next 24 hours, as did the dark cloud over the city.
Just like that Rose and his relationship with his hometown would never be the same.
There were glimpses of his on-the-court greatness when he eventually returned, but he basically held the organization hostage. The Bulls took a leap of faith that he would return to the player he once was, then tried to cater to him when he didn’t. The result of that was underachievement and a splintered locker room.
Then there was the other layer of the Rose-Bulls rocky relationship that was his camp.
Far too often Rose played puppet in his circle rather than puppeteer, and the feeling became protecting Rose’s brand was bigger than what was best for the organization. That became evident with his infamous “meetings and graduations” comment.
Rose was eventually traded to New York prior to the 2016 season, but over the next eight seasons never came close to being the consistent force he was in his MVP year.
The Grizzlies seemingly became his final swan song last year when he agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million deal to help mentor a young, talented group lacking leadership, but he appeared in just 24 games, averaging 8 points and 3.3 assists.
With NBA fall camps just days away from tipping off, Rose decided it was time to call it a day.