A Derrick Rose-Chicago Bulls reunion felt closer than ever before just a couple of days ago, but the New York Knicks kept their guy. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Rose agreed to stay with head coach Tom Thibodeau on a three-year, $43 million deal.
Yup, that man got PAID, and I think it’s safe to say the chunk of change he got from New York is over the threshold Chicago was willing to spend. Alex Caruso, who signed with the Bulls shortly after the Rose news broke, walked away with a four-year, $37 million contract. I can only assume this is closer to the deal Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley were hoping to get Rose to sign.
Speaking of which, NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson did confirm that Rose and the Bulls were engaged in talks before both decided to go their separate ways.
The Bulls indeed were engaged in talks to sign Derrick Rose, per sources. Rose agreed to a 3-year, $43M deal to return to the Knicks. The Bulls are in agreement with Alex Caruso on a 4-year, $37M deal.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) August 3, 2021
A Rose reunion would have come with some sentimental value for the fan base, but it only made sense to put pen to paper if the deal made basketball sense. On that chunk of change, it was not worth it from the Bulls’ perspective, as there are a number of other tweaks they need to make to their rotation moving forward.
Not to mention, Caruso does seem to fit the mold of what this front office values more. Rose would bring a valuable veteran presence with deep playoff experience, but Caruso can play both guard positions and offer top-tier on-ball defense. One has to imagine Coby White should also be able to fill the offensive-minded sxith man role adequately upon his return.
Rose was a fun thought experiment, but I don’t think anyone is too surprised to see things fall flat. He carved out a good niche with the Knicks, and he simply was not a priority for the Bulls front office this summer. Also, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think it’s best to leave things in the past. The whole point of this front office overhaul was to take things in a new direction. The signings of Ball and Caruso, as well as the addition of Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic, have done that. Let’s keep building a fresh product.