This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Derrick Rose scored a team-high 29 points on Thursday, showing a mixture of skill and athleticism that propelled his Chicago Bulls to a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For Rose, that had to be the high point of his week. The rest of it had to be chaos.
On Wednesday, an ESPN report suggested that Rose and the Bulls are on the verge of a split, that the relationship between the two sides is broken beyond repair, that there is no turning back.
That would be unfortunate for all involved. The days of Rose being among the best point guards in the NBA and an MVP candidate seem to be fleeting, if not gone altogether.
How can anyone forget Rose taking the league by storm, the Chicago-bred boy going to Memphis, almost winning an NCAA title and coming home as the top pick of the NBA Draft?
And who can forget the meteoric rise? Rose turning his Bulls into a contender, seemingly before he was old enough to drink? Rose getting into the lane, dunking on dudes with regularity and doing things athletically we've almost never seen from a point guard.
That was the old Derrick Rose, the one I fear we will never see again. That win over the Thunder provided a glimpse of the past, but too often we've seen Rose turn into a volume-shooting chucker who no longer knows who he is. Too often, Rose is forcing himself into the No. 1 role on the Bulls, when in truth is he should be taking a back seat to Jimmy Butler.
This is because the injuries have robbed Rose of who he used to be. The torn ACLs and overall wear and tear have made Rose the oldest 27-year-old basketball player on the planet. Even with his outburst on Thursday, Rose is averaging 13 points, five assists and three rebounds per game — hardly numbers befitting a superstar making $41 million over the next two years.
There also are the missteps and public relations disasters. Rose — before the season started — all but proclaimed himself ready for free agency, which won't come for another two years.
Last season following a playoff loss to Cleveland, rumors surfaced about Rose and Butler not getting along. It's all contributed to a perfect storm of negativity for Rose: The former Simeon High legend hasn't been able to stay on the floor. He makes a ton of money, and yet he's speaking of possibly moving on.
Still, it would be shortsighted to peg Rose a lost cause. He's too talented, and too young to give up on. I don't think he'll be traded, because NBA teams aren't lining up to surrender assets for a player making his kind of money with his checkered injury history.
So, despite all the rumors, the Bulls and Derrick Rose are most likely stuck with each other for the next two years. A split could be on the horizon, but it's hardly imminent. And even if Rose can find a way to be more efficient with his shooting and find a way to co-exist with Butler over the long term, he's still worth saving.
We will never see peak Derrick Rose again, and that's sad. But we never again saw peak Grant Hill after his foot injuries robbed him of years in his prime. And Hill found a way to re-invent himself as one of the NBA's most valuable role players.
Derrick Rose can too. He has to have the self-awareness and the desire to do so, though.
Twitter: @tjonessltrib Three-pointers
Minute by minute
Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons is coming off knee surgery, so he's been on a minutes restriction. To keep him under that threshold, Dallas sat him for the first half of Thursday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets, instead saving him for the second half and crunch time. Only crunch time never came, because the Mavs were blown out by Charlotte. Parsons will eventually return to full health, but Dallas currently has a roster that is injured and flawed.
Buying Raptors yet?
The Toronto Raptors look great, racing out to a 5-1 start through Friday. They've been good on both sides of the ball and the free agent acquisition of former Jazzman DeMarre Carroll has done wonders for their defense and offensive spacing. The Raptors got off to a terrific start last season, limped to the finish line and flamed out in the first round. But something about this start makes it feel different.
The real deal
Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal made perhaps the shot of the week, a game-winning 3-pointer that allowed Washington to beat the San Antonio Spurs. This looks like a breakout season for Beal. He's currently averaging 25 points per game, to go with four rebounds and a couple of assists. When he came into the league, many were reminded of a young Ray Allen. He's showing that kind of scoring punch in this, his fourth season.
Game of the week
Of course it's going to be the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors last Wednesday. Steph Curry scored 31 points to lead his team to a 112-108 win in a matchup of unbeaten teams. The Clippers led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter before Golden State rallied.
Player of the week
Curry is averaging 35 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. If there were such a thing as an MVP award for the first week, he'd win it hands down. Curry's shooting and playmaking have been truly sensational. Outside of the win over the Clips, Golden State hasn't been challenged.