Free-agency is still years away to bother Derrick Rose. Yet, there's something in the air that makes Chicago hoops fans a little bit insecure about the future of their own homegrown talent.
The 25-year old Rose is entering the new season with lots to improve after spending majority of the last two seasons watching on the sidelines. So far, he seems pretty much in position to make his comeback in a big way, as he was the lone Ferrari among Nissans throughout the entire Team USA training camp in Las Vegas, according to Detroit Pistons star center Andre Drummond.
"He looks great," Drummond said in an ambush interview with TMZ. "He's a Ferrari amongst Nissans out there."
Rose's comeback after two major knee surgeries will surely be one of the biggest storylines NBA fans will be closely watching next season.
The Bulls, which generated buzz this offseason by acquiring Pau Gasol, Europe's best player Nikola Mirotic and last year's college basketball sharp shooter Doug McDermont, will still be leaning on Rose to get them out of the souped-up Eastern Conference and take them to the promise land - the place where a man named Michael Jordan brought the time over six times.
Rose is a man on a mission, and he won't be contented until winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to the Windy City. But he can't do it alone. First off, he needs his teammates to step up their game big time. The second one, he wants the team executives to clear the tension with his representatives consists of his brother/manager Reggie and agent BJ Armstrong (a.k.a 'the camp'), or else he might leave three years from now.
"I know it's been there,'' Rose told the Sun-Times about the tension between the team's front office and his camp. "I heard there were some upset people.
"I'm happy I didn't personally see it. I don't want to see that. I kind of wonder where it was coming from because it seemed like whenever I was around, everything was all right. It bothered me because when I wasn't around, I would hear from certain people that everything wasn't all right.''
Everything isn't all right indeed. The emergence of Rose as a bonafide All-Star has given Bulls fans hope of another championship after the Jordan era. But the Bulls' still got nothing but a trip in Eastern Conference finals in this era. Of course, the Bulls are being patient. After all, Rose hasn't reached his prime yet. The question now is if Rose is also being patient too and committed for the franchise for a long haul. With all these 'tensions' going around, it would be interesting how Rose would sum up his tenure with the Bulls when he becomes a free-agent in the summer of 2017.
It will be an interesting summer. The window for him to leave Windy City is growing inch by inch. A championship within the next three years would surely lock in Rose, but disappoints could open options for him elsewhere.
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