Sam Smith mailbag
What are your thoughts on Reggie Rose's comments regarding the Bulls not putting anything around Derrick? I know nothing about Reggie Rose or his relationship with his brother. I'm curious if we should put any stock in what he's saying, or completely ignore it. Derrick has never made any comments remotely close to this in his entire Bulls career. I would assume he can't wait to get out there and compete with his teammates as soon as is reasonably possible, but maybe I'm wrong. One of the things fans love about Derrick is that he not only says all the right things, but also seems so genuine when he says it. If Reggie's comments don't reflect Derrick's thoughts at all, it must be frustrating for Derrick to see himself portrayed this way by his own family.
Dan Michler
Sam: I assume you saw this released by Rose Thursday night:
“I have always felt that the Bulls organization’s goals have been the same as mine and that is to bring another championship to this city.”
Reggie also got it pretty good on the TNT halftime show during the Bulls blowout loss to the Heat from Charles Barkley, who said: “His brother needs to shut the hell up, number one. Listen man, I’m going to make one of the rules, when I’m king of the world — which is never gonna happen — hey man, we don’t care about your mom, your dad, your brothers and sisters. Stop tweeting. As Herm Edwards would say, ‘Don’t push send.’ Nobody cares what you think. If a reporter calls you, he wants you to say something bad about somebody else, so don’t be a damn idiot. Stop tweeting about coaches and players and stuff. Let the famous person be famous. You just shut the hell up.”
I think it was a surprise to everyone, and perhaps Reggie as well given the public and media reaction. There’s an old newspaper saying, “Don’t screw up on a slow news day.” You become the headline. Or the night of a blowout loss as it was for the Bulls to the Miami Heat Thursday. Everyone around knows how Derrick feels about his family, and his family did a great job in helping make him the person he is today. You have to give Reggie a lot of credit along with their mom. Reggie certainly would never do anything to hurt Derrick. Derrick’s story of hardship growing up and being taken care of and becoming the man he is has been a testament to that family that can be a model for so many more around the country. But no one is perfect and sometimes you have a bad day. Or say something to someone who is writing it down. Ever complain about where you work? But not to a reporter. You occasionally see stuff like this around the NBA, of family members saying something that might be embarrassing to the player out of passion or frustration or enthusiasm. It generally gets ignored, and I’d view his comments that way, more a loose moment with the media. It happens. I’m sure Derrick loves his brother, but as much as you may love a family member you don’t always have to think exactly the same. Maybe that's how Reggie Rose feels. That's OK. He's a fan, too. Sports is about debate and opinion. Would Derrick not return to play based on some pique about personnel decisions? Heck, he was playing with Tyrus, Lindsey Hunter, Anthony Roberson and Aaron Gray and you couldn't get him off the court. I don’t know what Derrick thinks, but we can only go with what he says and what he believes, and he always has said he loves his teammates and is inspired by the veterans. It was Derrick perhaps as much as anyone not pursuing other free agents in 2010, in part, because of his devotion to teammates. I haven’t gotten any sense Derrick has changed and have seen him and talked to him a fair amount the last month as he’s been around the team. The main reason the Bulls are not serious contenders this season — good, but flawed — is because Derrick is not playing. Not because the Bulls haven’t made any trades. Could they have won last season? I believe they could have. Deng and Noah are All-Stars selected by the coaches, and the Bulls made strong pitches to LeBron, Wade and Bosh in 2010. Did you want Dwight Howard? Well, they tried that, too, and Howard said Chicago wasn’t important enough for him. But I understand Reggie in a sense. We all want to be the GM. Seems like a fun job.
What do you make of Derrick’s brother Reggie and his criticism of the Bulls organization not doing enough? My opinion may not matter much but as a long time fan who follows the Bulls daily, I can’t agree with him at all. I hope Derrick will, though I doubt it, address his brother’s comments in one way or another.
Dawn Parker
Sam: It’s probably awkward for Derrick, certainly at this time. I guess you can say 29 organizations that don’t win aren’t doing enough, though some specific suggestions would have been helpful.
I was disappointed to read Reggie Rose's comments to ESPN Chicago today, in which he slammed the Bulls for standing pat at the trading deadline and said that this inactivity could be a "big factor" in Derrick's motivation to return to the court this season. Granted that Reggie stated he was not speaking for his brother. But he is Derrick's manager, and as such his comments reflect poorly on his client. They are also profoundly ungrateful to the Bulls, who in my view have gone above and beyond in shielding Derrick from pressure to return, and in giving him the privacy to recover. Moreover, they are an insult to Rose's teammates, who are hanging tough without Derrick and doing their best to give him something to return to. Between Adidas marketing the heck out of Derrick's return, and -- via some of Derrick's comments last week and Reggie's this week -- the vague whiff of entitlement starting to come from the Rose camp, increasingly it seems that the only party that will emerge from all this with its dignity intact is the Bulls organization and players. I want to believe that Derrick is still a team-first guy in the middle of all of this, and that his brother is talking out of hand. It's hard not to feel that the Bulls deserve at least that.
Mark Ullmann
Sam: I will say it sounded uncharacteristic of Reggie, who I don’t know well but always has been genial and a likeable guy. Again, I’ve gotten not the slightest indication Derrick is any different than he ever has been. You know the two best words when dealing with a family member: Apology accepted. Of course it could be something sinister. Like Woody Allen once said, “When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.” Maybe they want to rent out Derrick’s room.
After hearing about Reggie Rose's comments I think the Bulls may have a problem. First if you read between the lines, I wonder if this has something to do with Derick's health? Is this just posturing, because Rose isn't going to be back this season? I personally think that is the best situation for everyone, but could this just be a preemptive strike to the insane backlash from fans? The fact that these comments come from his brother and manager, I wonder if they are seeing something that leads them to believe Rose isn't going to be the player he once was. I can't imagine that his brother would leak these comments for no reason. Second it's now obvious that Rose has other people in his camp that aren't happy with what the Bulls have done to bring talent in. I think a lot of the fans including myself agree. I understand that there is little they can do, because of the salary cap, but they better get creative soon. Can you imagine what the fans will say if Rose walks in a few years? I think at this point it's very clear that LeBron is going to rule this decade. Players like Rose are either going to have to join a team that has the cap space, and can afford to bring in superstars, or hope that the Bulls can get it done.
David Naber
Sam: That perhaps is the biggest issue with Reggie’s comments that so many will read so much into what may be just a guy blowing off some steam. There seems no way seeing Derrick shoot around and run before games at this point you would seem to be able to make a comment on his future playing ability. Plus, all the reviews from the closed practices have been pretty upbeat. Not playing is another issue and the Bulls always have said they’ll err on the side of caution given Rose’s age and the future. Which is he signed a maximum deal to stay with the Bulls and they could have cap room in two years. The problem is what player are you going to get? Who are these great free agents? Josh Smith? Al Jefferson? Yes, that’s the top of the field. Rose is tied to the Bulls until the 2017-18 season, and it’s the same issue why Kobe can’t go anywhere. Kobe makes $30 million from the Lakers. If you pay him, then how can you add anyone else? Same with Rose. He’ll make $21.3 million in 2016-17. OK, say he wanted to leave. Then the other team likely couldn’t afford any other players in order to sign him. The way the luxury tax penalties are designed to level the playing field and keep teams from loading up on stars, the movement of top star players will become less and less in the future years. Unless they want to give up $10 million to $15 million per year.
Given the trade deadline ended with a thud, I was contemplating (good for the soul). I keep hearing that the Bulls need one more All-Star to surround Rose. Well, when he returns, the Bulls will have 3. Two of whom were selected by the coaches (more reliable that the fans, i.e. Garnett). They also have a top 5 certainly a top 10 power forward. Which new All-Star are we going to get? I don't see a trade-their All-Star for Teague, Butler and Radmanovic. Not fair but that's life. So we have Rose, Deng and Noah. They have James, Wade and Bosh, or Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka. Or Duncan, Parker and Ginobelli. Other than James and Durant, I like the Bulls chances. But James and Durant aren't going anywhere so I think that the Bulls are cap locked and player locked. I give the Bulls credit for putting together a great team. 2014 will be interesting but in the meantime, put on the big boy pants and go play. Did I miss something?
Greg Young
Sam: I’ll get you Reggie Rose’s number. You can call him.
I was just wondering what Rose and his people would say if he decides to sit out the year and the Bulls go on to win a title without him?
Steve Edwards
Sam: Congratulations and oops. I’m not optimistic they’ll have to worry about that, though. Certainly, Thursday’s game with Miami gave little confidence to those seeing the Bulls succeeding without Derrick.
