Rose on NBA lockout: It’s very sad
NBA players are locked out, but Derrick Rose is free to supply the means for others to play basketball.
With a couple of hundred fans camped out on State Street to greet him, Rose introduced his new signature Adidas shoe at the downtown Foot Locker on Saturday.
“I’m blessed. I’m very blessed,” Rose said. “For all of these people to come and follow everything I’ve been posting on Facebook, it’s been a blessing to have this outcome. Words can’t explain how I feel right now. It means a lot to me.”
When it came to describing his feelings about the lack of an NBA season, Rose had no trouble finding words.
The Bulls would be about halfway through the preseason right now. Instead, labor negotiations have postponed the start of the season indefinitely.
“It’s sad. It’s very sad,” Rose said. “But everybody knows it’s not our fault. It’s definitely not our fault. If it was up to us, we’d be out there playing.
“The biggest thing is you just want to get out there and play. It’s going to hurt us, but I think it hurts basketball, period. We had a great year last year, and for us not to have a season this year or taking this long to come up with a deal — I think that’s wrong.
Rose did more than complain. He offered this solution: “People need to stop being greedy.”
If Rose wants to play basketball, he’s free to take part in exhibition games. Several events featuring big-name stars have been held in Philadelphia, Miami and Indianapolis, among other cities.
But games like that don’t appeal to Rose. Growing up, he was encouraged by his older brother Reggie to avoid street ball-style games that tend to stress flash over fundamentals.
So scratch the idea of Rose jumping into the next showcase organized by LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. He is planning to play in some USO-sponsored games, though.
“We’re flying back out to L.A., then we’re going to leave on the 23rd to go to Honolulu and Guam for Hoops For Troops,” Reggie Rose said. “We’re going to play these games to give back to the troops. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t even be able to play these games. That’s the way we look at it.”
Asked what other NBA players would join Rose in playing for the troops, Reggie mentioned D.J. Augustine, Tyreke Evans, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Horford and Mike Miller.
Asked if he plans to get together with his Bulls teammates to help prepare for a potential NBA season, Rose said he figured there is no point trying until they have a better idea on the state of negotiations.
“Joakim (Noah) is out there in L.A. right now,” he said. “I worked out with him for two days before I came out here. He’s out there focusing, just working out. Booz (Carlos Boozer) is in Miami. Lu (Deng) is back here. Keith (Bogans) is in Orlando. C.J. (Watson) is in Vegas, I think. So I talk to them here and there.”
As usual, Rose is basing his off-season workouts in Los Angeles. He has been working on a post-up offensive game.
“Just sharpening up things, like my shooting, dribbling,” Rose said. “Just trying to get better as a player, get smarter. I definitely want my basketball IQ to get better, but it comes along with just playing the game.”
There’s only one problem with that plan — no games.