Derrick Rose on United Center standing ovation: “It was unbelievable… I tried to hold on.”

Derrick Rose, left out of the Knicks’ regular rotation for now, did not play against the Bulls on Wednesday, and then on Friday in the final minutes only after the game was very decided for the Knicks with a 114 win. -91.

Rose sounded a little wistful here this week when she said that perhaps she should have shown more joy during her glittering stint with the Bulls a decade ago, maybe danced a bit like Ja Morant. Though just her presence produced an arena that seemed to want to dance even when the Bulls were beaten. MVP chants rang out loud and repeatedly for the Chicagoans’ Rose.

Rose offered a brief wave of thanks, the light still shining in her eyes and the stiffness in her step. He’s not going anywhere except New York for now with the Knicks for this season and who knows how many more. But don’t close the curtain on Derrick Rose just yet.

“Until I get kicked out, yes,” Rose said Friday during a pregame session with the media. “I feel good, I can condition myself, I can run. My body, I’m underweight. I feel like I’m adjusting. In the situation I’m in now, I’m happy I didn’t lose him because of the way he was playing. Or they didn’t bench me for my game. They benched me because he (Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau) wanted to see what Deuce (Miles McBride) looked like, and he’s a younger guy coming into the rotation. So how can I hate that? That’s how I looked at it.

“Tom (Brady) will stick around until he gets kicked out too,” Rose said with a laugh. “You know what I mean? Yes, I feel healthy. I’m not trying to (take) the place of a youngster in the team, but I feel like I’m healthy enough to play. I can still add something to the team. As long as I can move, that’s what I want to see,” Rose said. “It’s not about stats anymore. I just want to see how many games I play. I like to win. I like to be in a locker room when the vibes are winning. And the guy who’s playing up front me Deuce can’t hate that young man I had him over for Thanksgiving last year Really great with his family members I love the way he’s playing I’m happy for him The way he the team has been playing, I don’t want to mess up the rhythm they have right now. If we were losing, it could be a different thing. But we’re playing great basketball right now, so I don’t want to mess up that rhythm.

“That’s why I have to keep an upbeat pace,” Rose said. “I never want to be on a losing streak or depressed just because I’m not playing. When Deuce wasn’t playing, he wasn’t acting that way. I learn from everyone. Although he is a young player, he gives me the vibe. He said certain things to me on the court because of our relationship. He has been great. Who knows how many years I will continue playing? There are many things that I want to do. But right now, I’m still invested in basketball. So that’s where I’m giving it my all.”

No longer the kid, the Englewood basketball comet who stormed NBA heaven like never before, daring, dunking, and leading the Bulls to the best record in the league in back-to-back seasons, and what seemed like intended to be at least a facsimile return. to the championship run of the 1990s, before that devastating knee injury in the first game of the 2012 playoffs.

Rose returned after missing a year, suffered another major knee injury, came back and fought the baubles, and in the midst of the demands, all the passion and promise began to cool, hopes turned to demands, disappointments to exasperation.

And then they broke her heart and exchanged it, a jumbled mix of emotions. He always believed that Chicago would always be his home. That’s how children think.

Rose then went out into the NBA desert like a Moses seeking relief and retirement. He was hurt, physically and emotionally, roaming New York and Cleveland, traded to Utah, liberated, effectively out of the league and out of everyone’s minds.

But life never got the best of Derrick Rose.

He took a minimum salary contract to prove himself with former coach Tom Thibodeau and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Enough to score a career-high 50 points in a game and average 18 points playing less than 30 minutes in consecutive seasons, first with Minnesota and then with Detroit.

It wasn’t flying like before, but it still seemed faster than a speeding locomotive.

“These last two years, it’s been the same way. I have an injury or something and I stop and go back to playing where I love to play,” Rose said speaking about his training and recovery, an important part of his unlikely return to a high level of play. “Play three-on-three, four-on-four, play practice, I’m a gamer. I prefer to play in the game. If I’m good, just get me into the game and they’ll have the confidence in me to do it.”

The Knicks relied on him a few years ago and Rose was third in voting for Sixth Man of the Year and was the dominant player in the Knicks’ first round playoff series.

He’s taken on more of a mentoring role recently with the Knicks working on young players. But he’s also prepared to step in for veteran effect.

Naturally, it raised legacy questions about Rose after Knicks Thibodeau in his pregame session with reporters Friday said he believed Rose should eventually be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and hoped the Bulls would one day retire the number. Rose’s jersey, as well as honor other players from those fine 2010-12 Teams.

“Of course, I’ve thought about (retiring my number),” Rose admitted.

The Bulls have not given any indication, but have refused to give the number 1 to any player in recent years. They have released all other single-digit numbers, which are often player favorites.

“But only from people who ask me about it,” Rose said of the jersey. “For my family members to see that and for the people who have supported me all these years to be a part of this, that would be great.”

Although Rose has always been the welcoming teammate, she also expects honors for her friends, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng among them.

“It’s not up to me,” Rose said. “If it were up to me, those two guys would be up there for sure. But it’s up to Jerry (Reinsdorf) and the franchise to make that decision. I know that I learned a lot from the two boys. From Lu I learned to take care of my body. He was the first person I saw take care of his body the way he did. Our relationship has always been bigger than just basketball. With Joakim, of course, everyone knows our relationship. He always fascinated me how he grew up. As with Jo, it’s much bigger than basketball. Luol, he’s like James Bond in a way. You don’t know where he is or what country he is in. He just shows up. With Jo, this summer they’re doing something for his dad in Paris and I’m taking my family there to see how they do something for him. He is going to be very good”.

Just like seeing Derrick Rose back at the United Center this week, even if it wasn’t like 10 years ago. Except for love.

“He (Thibodeau) stamped it? Then they should, if Thibs said so,” Rose said with a smile over Thibodeau’s endorsements. “Like I said, it would be awesome to see, but right now that’s years away.”

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, too. Although both Thibs and I finally agree on something, that Rose belongs when her career is finally over. Between the MVP and unexpected longevity, Rose is in many ways a singular figure in basketball.

Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who often receives MVP chants at the United Center, could only celebrate Rose when asked Friday after the game about Rose’s boisterous reception in those final minutes and the chants. of MVP for Rose.

When asked about losing like the Bulls did to the Knicks and Rose getting the biggest catch, DeRozan supported Rose.

“D-Rose, Derrick Rose, man,” DeRozan said as if everyone had to understand. “It’s Derrick Rose. He should receive that love, that respect, that admiration for everything he did for this city. Being able to see him get that is nothing but respect. I love watching him. That just shows the respect, the love that our fans have for him for what he meant to the city. It was great to see that.”

Rose, likewise, was overwhelmed, saying after the game how grateful he is to the Bulls fans.

“It was amazing,” Rose said. “I tried to hold it back. But to always be recognized like that, it means a lot. We did a lot here. I’m glad I got in. They (the family in the game) were crying and crying and cheering.” “Speaking of (like) somebody’s cutting onions and all that. Coming here and seeing all the love and getting all the love we got, it was unreal.”

But the Hall of Fame are also achievements.

“Who wouldn’t want to be in the Hall of Fame one day?” said pink. “There are a couple of ways you could look at it. I would be very grateful for that, but at the same time, can anyone here name a famous gladiator?

“I mean it in a way that in 200-300 years, nobody is going to care what happened,” Rose said. “For me, the knowledge, the wisdom, the love, the capital that I got from this sport allowed me to do a lot. And I’m so thankful and thankful for that. The things I want to do after basketball I feel are going to be bigger than what I do in basketball. I don’t want to like swearing right now or giving someone my model of what I’m doing. But there are a lot of things I’m going to get involved in.”

Which gave Rose pause about those magical times at the United Center with the Bulls. It was special, although too short.

“Seeing him again reminds you of the old days when he played here,” Rose said. “In retrospect, you always wish you had appreciated things a little more. I wish I had danced a little or something. Ja Morant or something like that, you know what I mean? She gave a little dance.

They all smiled, but they all also knew that this wasn’t Derrick. Wasn’t he famous at the 2012 NBA All-Star game in Orlando when his fellow All-Stars danced in introductions and he was stone-faced. After all, it was never just a game for Derrick Rose. It was life the way he and his family fought coming from the south side of Chicago.

“You know how it is, you’re older and you look back,” Rose said. “The times I didn’t go out to concerts or dinners when I had all the time in the world to do so. That’s something I would have loved to do when I was here. If I had known, I would have played that long.”

But everyone appreciated who he was.

“Just giving it our all,” Rose said, “and being thankful that we’re still here and what we’ve done in the past. I feel good. I want to be able to walk away and be able to smile when I’m doing it.”

D-Rose was back at the United Center, and even as the night went for the Bulls, it was all smiles in the end.

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