What do you want him to say?
You ask any elite NBA player who the best player in the Association is and they should say themselves. You don’t want them to say, “I’m pretty good but that LeBron James guy…” You don’t get to be that good without some ego and swagger.
So whether he spent last season on the shelf or not, when Derrick Rose was asked by CNN who the best player in the NBA is, you knew what the response would be. Aggrey Sam at CSNChicago.com summed the whole thing up well.Thus, when the former league MVP was asked by CNN who the NBA’s best player is, it shouldn’t shock anybody that he answered, “Derrick Rose.” Any other response would have been unacceptable from a player of his ilk….
Knowing that he’s set to resume his role as the face of the franchise, shouldering the Bulls’ offensive burden and being the focus of opposing scouting reports in a season where the expectations are to contend for a title, if he wasn’t confident enough to accept that responsibility, then that would be a cause for concern. After Rose’s season-long hiatus, while he might not be fretting over how he’s perceived in the court of public opinion, he certainly realizes the increased pressure created by his extended absence and by giving himself that extra time to fully recover, he has to believe that he’s put himself in the best possible position to rejoin basketball’s elite.
Bingo. Nail on the head.
Rose’s handling of his injury return certainly gave him a PR hit in Chicago. As it should have — he had the right to wait until he was ready to come back, but his dragging out of the possibility of a return last season and working out before games tarnished his image.
The only way he fixes that is win. I figure by about Game 5 next season Chicago will have moved on and we’ll be trying to decide if the Bulls are contenders.
By the way, Game 1 for the Bulls is going to be against the Miami Heat. Welcome back to the NBA, Derrick.