Derrick Rose Says Load Management Would Have Helped Extend His Time with Bulls

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Detroit Pistons point guard Derrick Rose said his standout years with the Chicago Bulls may have been extended if the “load management” trend started earlier in his career.

Rose told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago in an interview released Wednesday the view of players taking games off to rest didn't evolve until after he was traded by the Bulls in 2016.

“I mean, it was just a different time in the sports world period,” he said. “Now we have the term load management. I don't think I would've taken it as far as Kawhi [Leonard] as far as like they're really being cautious about his injury or whatever he has. But if load management would've been around, who knows? I probably would've still been a Chicago Bull by now. But it wasn't around.”

Rose enjoyed a rapid rise to superstardom after Chicago selected him with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He was named the Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 season and continued to elevate his game en route to becoming the league's Most Valuable Player for the 2010-11 campaign.

The Chicago native suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during his MVP defense, however, which started an extended run of injury woes for the dynamic guard.

He skipped the entire 2012-13 season as part of his recovery, a decision that led to criticism, and ended up making just 10 appearances the following year before a torn meniscus in his right knee brought an end to that campaign.

Rose went on to miss 47 games with various ailments, including further knee issues, across his final two seasons in Chicago.

The 31-year-old University of Memphis explained to Johnson he wasn't concerned about critiques about his decision to sit out when he wasn't feeling right:

“I was doing what was best for myself and my family. Around that time, I had to think solely for myself. My family was telling me one thing. They really didn't care. They were just worried about if I was healthy and my mental was all right. When I was around them, they knew I was all right. It was just the outside that was wondering what was going on. And once I figured things out then, it was just a smooth ride until I got traded.”

While health has remained a factor in Rose's post-Bulls career, he's enjoyed an on-court resurgence over the past two years with the Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. He's averaging 18.4 points and 5.8 assists across eight appearances for Detroit this season.

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Neither Rose nor the Bulls will ever know whether load management over his first three seasons, when he played 240 of a possible 246 regular-season games along with 28 playoff appearances, could have changed the course of his career.

Despite the setbacks, Rose told Johnson he “wouldn't have wanted it any other way but how it played out” and will “always cherish” getting to play in his hometown.

He also didn't rule out a future reunion, noting he'll be a free agent in 2021.

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