Thursday, June 3, 2010

Rose Talks Off-Season Plans, Free Agency and More


Bulls young star point guard Derrick Rose spent most of the evening last Friday signing autographs at a local Chicago suburban dealership, but found some time afterwards to sit down exclusively with ESPNchicago to talk about his offeseason, free agency, the coach search, and reactions to Dwayne Wade's recent comments.
Rose has meshed superbly with the Chicago fans and media, and is going to soon be a true town "hero," regardless of Mr. James' future plans. Its very common for young stars to struggle in handling the pressures of a major media market like Chicago, but Rose has answered everyones questions while not stirring up any controversary. Here's an extent of the convo Rose had with espnchicago.com:

Q: How's your offseason been?

A: It's been good. Everything is fine. I'm trying to work on my game. That's about it.


Q: What are you working on?

A: Jump shots. I'm getting a lot of jumpers up right now.


Q: You were working out in Chicago?

A: I'm training in Chicago now, but I'm going out to L.A. in a couple days to work out.



Q: Have you been able to relax at all after the season?

A: I took a vacation with my friends. I took a week off, but it's fine now. We went to the Atlantis.



Q: Have you been paying attention to all the free agency news?

A: No, if they ask me about it, that's when I'll have a say-so about it. If anything, I'm leaving it up to the front office and general manager to handle it.



Q: I heard one guy ask you if LeBron was staying at your house. Have you talked to LeBron?

A: No, no, that's not true. Don't believe none of that. Don't believe none of that, man.



Q: Have you been interested in what's going on with the coaching search?

A: No. I'm young. I barely know some of the coaches' names in the NBA. If anything, it'll have to be the front office and general manager to make the decision if I have a say-so. If anything, Joakim [Noah] will have a say-so before I do.



Q: Would you be interested in playing for John Calipari again?

A: No, he's in a good fit [at Kentucky]. I don't think he should leave. He could start his legacy there, so I don't see why he would leave.



Q: Randy Brown was quoted as saying you didn't understand what Dwyane Wade was saying when he questioned the front office's loyalty. Were you surprised?

A: He's a grown man. He can say whatever he wants to say. I'm just trying to play ball. That's what it's all about.



Q: You've had some time off since the season ended. What are your thoughts now when you look back on it?

A: We got to get further. That's the only thing about last year. Last year was all right. We lost too soon. Next year coming up, we got to get further. It's going to be fun.



Q: How do you get further?

A: By getting the free agents we're supposed to be getting.



Q: Have you been watching the Blackhawks?

A: I'm a big fan.



Q: Do you have a favorite player?

A: I'm not a fan like that where I know the game, but I'm a Chicago sports' fan, period. As long they're in Chicago and doing well, I'm going to be watching.



Q: Do you have a prediction for the Stanley Cup finals?

A: The Blackhawks, man. I think they can get them. They're a young team. They're playing with a lot of confidence right now. I'm looking for a sweep.

2 comments:

  1. Loved the interview. The fact that he responded by saying he's young and just wants to play ball is saying that he's trying hard to avoid the media and all the drama that can follow.

    Regarding feedback, I can't say much except keep the visual aids up once in a while to help us know who is who.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will do, thanks for the comment and suggestion

    ReplyDelete