Derrick Rose's season ended a few weeks ago when he was shut down with an elbow injury. And as an unrestricted free agent in the summer, that means he may have played his last game for the Minnesota Timberwolves. With Tom Thibodeau no longer head coach, Rose doesn't have his main connection to the Wolves, so it wouldn't be a shock if he moved on.
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But where to? Obviously, a return to the Chicago Bulls will come up any time Rose reaches free agency, and according to his agent, B.J. Armstrong, Rose would be "open" to a reunion. During a recent interview, Armstrong told a Chicago radio station they'd be "open to that conversation." As transcribed by Sporting News:
"I think we're going to look at everything, we want to look at the situation," Armstrong said. "There isn't a situation we would not look at because Derrick is still a very capable player. We'll see what the Bulls have.
"There's no secret, there's no doubt that in his heart, Chicago will always be there. We'll see. I don't know what the Bulls are going to do at this particular time. … If it presented itself, we'd be open to that conversation. We'll find out in due time."
None of this is a surprise at all. With Rose's connection to the city of Chicago, and the success he had with the Bulls, he'll likely always have a pull to go back there. But as Armstrong subtly notes, this is all coming from Rose's perspective. There's been no indication that the Bulls are interested in Rose.
Additionally, it must be noted that Rose has a documentary coming out later this week, and this seems an awful lot like a convenient bit of PR work. What's a better way to get some good publicity than saying Rose wants to go back to his hometown team?
Look, could the Bulls end up signing Rose? Sure. They've never been against bringing players in for business reasons as much as basketball ones. Just look at the Jabari Parker signing last summer. This interview with Rose's agent, however, isn't going to be a factor.