Derrick Rose Signs With Timberwolves, Reconnects With Thibodeau, Old Teammates

Three-time All-Star Derrick Rose has signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to various sources.

Based on what ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicates, Rose’s deal with the Wolves goes through the rest of the 2017-2018 campaign.

Tim Reynolds of ABC News reveals that Minnesota will be the fourth team the 2010-2011 MVP suits up for. Despite that truth, Reynolds wisely adds that this is “technically” the fourth team Rose has been on over the last year.

Rose started this season as a member of the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Be that as it may, his action with Cleveland was limited to 16 games due to the injury bug catching up with him once more.

Rose, along with current Los Angeles Laker Isaiah Thomas, were among the many players the Cavs traded shortly before the trade deadline. However, as Wojnarowski reminds his readers, the former Rookie of the Year was quickly waived from the team they traded him to: Utah.

Last year, of course, D-Rose was a member of the chaos-infested New York Knicks. To say the road has been a smooth one for Rose would be far from accurate.

According to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, the transaction reunites Rose with several old faces. One of those faces is former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. All-Star Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, and Aaron Brooks are the others on the list. The last time Thibodeau and all of those players were together was the 2014-2015 season.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney, Butler had talks with Thibodeau in later February about the possibility of playing with Rose again. Originally, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, this is what Butler had to say on the matter at the time.

“That’s not my job,” Butler said.

“Is he a hell of a player? Yeah. But that’s up to Thibs and everybody else to figure if he has a place on this roster and this team. Obviously, I’ve played with him before. I know the talent he has. It’s not my job to say.”

Being former teammates, Butler is certainly more qualified than most to speak about Rose. However, discussions with the latter seemed to progress after Butler suffered an injury about a couple weeks back. As stated by UPROXX’s Robby Kalland, Butler badly hurt the meniscus in his right knee, which required surgery.

That being said, the move appears to be an attempt to help obliterate the sting of losing Butler. At the same time, Butler very well may have had a say as well given his knowledge of Rose’s game.

At any rate, though, the signing of Rose will indeed give the Timberwolves further depth. In a tightly competitive Western Conference, every last ounce of help is crucial to their chances of securing one of the higher playoff seeds.

During his short stay with Cleveland, Rose averaged 9.8 points, 1.8 boards, and 1.6 dimes on a nightly basis. Unfortunately for the Cavs, they only carried a net rating of -5.3 when the former MVP was on the court. Based on Kalland’s report, the Cavs were only worse when Thomas used to play for them.

Although Rose may never be the player he once was, the Wolves’ interest in him is not completely off base. Besides Butler, other NBA players have noted that Rose is still capable of playing the game at a high level when healthy. One of those guys is Dwyane Wade, who also temporarily played in Cleveland this season.

According to Reynolds’ piece, Wade had the following to say about D-Rose’s potential when he is not sidelined.

“‘He was the best player in training camp,’ Wade said, noting that LeBron James was hurt for most of Cavs camp last fall. ‘It’s always been about health with D-Rose.'”

Now that he is officially on the Wolves, Rose will try to help his team reach the playoffs for the first time since 2004.