This is a Derrick Rose trade discussion. I do solemnly swear that this write-up will not turn into an Andre Drummond bashing….even though he did have nine turnovers in a loss to the 13-28 Washington Wizards and allowed Ian Mahinmi to go 9-10 from the field against him. Dammit, there I go again (sorry, not sorry). Seriously, check the above link for a painful but hilarious compilation of some of Drummond’s worst work against the Wiz, courtesy of Detroit Bad Boys.

Last week I went over the pros and…well…mostly pros of the Pistons theoretically trading Andre Drummond before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. It is a long-overdue decision that would add some much-needed clarity (and a young asset, *fingers crossed*) to the direction of an organization that has been paddling against the current of mediocrity for his entire career.

Derrick Rose, on the other hand, is a much trickier dilemma. Because he is still a bad boy in his own right.

Detroit hit one of the home runs of free agency by signing the 2010-11 NBA MVP to a two-year $15 million deal, a drop in the bucket by today’s standards. Rose actually makes below the average annual salary for an NBA player ($7.7 million), a number which is driven up by the mega-deals given to many of the league’s stars, which are now beginning to exceed $40 million per year (Steph Curry). If my calculations are correct, you could start a team with Curry, sign a whole bouquet of Derrick Roses to fill the rest of your vase, and still come in below the total active cap hit of the current Detroit Pistons roster ($127 million). I wouldn’t advise such a team build, but I might take that squad in a seven-game series over the current iteration of the Pistons. It depends who has home court. 

There is a reason the Pistons were able to snag Rose off the clearance rack, and that is because of his infamous injury history and dubious distinction as being one of the league’s most fragile players. When I first googled “Derrick Rose total missed games” to aid this portion of my post, the featured snippet read 257. An astronomical number for a guy who is still just 31 years-of-age, but that still sounded low to me. That’s because the featured snippet was from a Chicago Tribune article written in 2016. After punching the numbers in manually with my Texas Instruments Graphing Calculator, the revised total revealed the Detroit Pistons signed a player who, heading into the 2019-20 season, had missed a grand total of 340 regular-season games in his career.

The Pistons correctly identified Rose as a low-risk high-reward gamble, as he has largely stayed healthy this season. He has missed only six games, and is on pace for his first 70+ game season in nearly a decade. Not only that, but he still looks the part of a former MVP. You simply can’t keep him from getting to the basket, which is where he pays the bills on a nightly basis. A dip in his 3pt% from a year ago (one of my preseason concerns about Rose) is the only thing keeping him under 50% from the field (.497), not exactly common among modern point guards. He leads the team in scoring (18.5) despite an early-season minutes restriction, which has recently been lifted as the trade deadline approaches (coincidence?). All told, he is on a career-best pace per 36 minutes in PTS, FG%, and AST. That last stat is key, and we will revisit it momentarily. 

Trade him before he breaks again

Yeah, this is the elephant in the room when it comes to what the Pistons should do with the suddenly coveted Rose. Just because he’s on a 70+ game pace doesn’t mean we should feel confident he will get there. There’s just too much history to ignore. Imagine a scenario where the Pistons ship out Rose just in time before the wheels fall off and he becomes another team’s failed gamble. That would be a good look for head executive Ed Stefanski, who is still playing damage control over the crippling transactions of the previous regime led by Stan Van Gundy (though owner Tom Gores reportedly strong-armed some of those decisions).  

The Lakers, 76ers, and Clippers have emerged as teams interested in potentially acquiring Rose. Despite being five years older than Andre Drummond and needing an entire wing of his home dedicated to storing his medical paperwork, it is entirely possible that the Pistons could receive a better return for trading Rose. Hell, as I argued last week, I think there is a possibility teams aren’t willing to part with anything more than expiring contracts for Drummond (which the Pistons should still take, BTW). If there was ever a time I hoped I was wrong, it’s right here. 

I do find it interesting the juxtaposition of teams interested in acquiring Rose and Drummond. With Rose, you have the LAs and Phillys of the world, top-tier contenders looking for a final piece to secure a potential title. With Drummond, Atlanta and New York are (were) the teams linked as potential suitors. Bottom-feeder teams looking at Drummond as a dart throw, hoping he can unlock something that we haven’t yet seen in his 8-year career. That shines a bright light on what exactly these two players are in their careers. Drummond apologists think it’s a shame he’s never played for a contender, yet that is exactly the scenario he has the opportunity to play himself into at the deadline. Too bad the current contenders have shown little interest in acquiring him, even as a rental for a heavy discount. 

So, we have a 17-28 Pistons team who has already lost their best player from 2018-19 (Blake Griffin) for the season, has an interesting group of young players who could use developmental minutes, and despite being only 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot, know that sneaking in will only get them instant death via the guillotine known as the Milwaukee Bucks. Selling Derrick Rose and turning a future profit seems to be the obvious and logical choice, and he will undoubtedly be easier to move than Drummond. Case closed. Turn off the lights when you leave. Don’t forget to tip your server and any other cliches about us being done here.

But he’s so damn fun to watch

Not gonna lie, Derrick Rose won me over in a hurry in his short time in Detroit. I liked the signing back in July, but he has obviously exceeded the moderate expectations I had in place. Exceeding expectations isn’t something that happens often in this city, so it should be cherished like a…Rose. It’s easy to see why he gets cheered in opposing arenas whenever he enters the game. The guy has a playing style that makes for appointment viewing, which should have value to an organization that ranks among the bottom five in both attendance and franchise value. If this is just a one-year retooling rather than a long-term rebuild, Derrick Rose is a guy you are going to want to have around next year. 

Even if the Pistons are committed to developing the youngsters, Derrick Rose’s presence could provide some under-the-hood benefits. Rather than looking at Drummond as proof that all you need to do is give 40% effort on a nightly basis and one day someone will hand you a max contract, Rose shows the kids that being a star in the league that is respected by your peers requires putting your “petals” to the metal every night (see what I did there? Oh, you did but just didn’t think it was funny? That’s fair). 

Rose was on record of saying he wanted to do all he could to develop his young teammates shortly after he signed this past offseason. In particular, he said he wanted Luke Kennard to be his young Kyle Korver. In his post-game interview after the Pistons’ recent 127-106 win over the Kings, Rose said he is just trying to do whatever he can to stay in the league. Not doing whatever he can to be the best, or to make the all-star team, to stay in the league. Whether he means this literally or not, it’s definitely a mentality I want all of the Pistons’ developing players to adopt.

Oh, and if this kind of confidence rubs off on the kids, I’m good with that too.

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There is no doubt Rose is an alpha on the court who commands a high usage rate, but his career-high assists per 36 minutes suggest he is backing up his words and trying to get his young shooters involved. Many of his turnovers, which are up slightly, are from him forcing the ball to his teammates when he could just as easily create his own shot (anytime he wants). 

It’s not like Rose is directly blocking a young point guard on the roster from playing time. Luke Kennard and Svi Mykhailiuk play on the wing, while Sekou Doumbouya and Christian Wood would stand to benefit more from the 35 potential minutes freed up by a Drummond trade. Bruce Brown has played a lot of PG out of necessity this season, due to the absence of Reggie Jackson. But Brown is a combo guard who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact. His grit and defensive intensity can theoretically be plugged into most lineup configurations. Jordan Bone is a rookie PG on a two-way deal who I would like to see more of at some point, but his minutes can and should be taken from the combined allotment given to Jackson and/or Tim Frazier, both of whom have little to no current or future value to the Pistons.

But enough of what I think of Derrick Rose. Here is what coach Dwane Casey had to say about him recently…

“Derrick is a godsend”

Tell us how you really feel, coach.

Make the call

As always, I like to try and cover all scenarios and take multiple viewpoints to make sure I come to the most reasonable conclusion (The Warm Take, if you will). I can see the obvious, tangible benefits to trading Rose and cashing in on pieces that can help this team in the near or long term, depending on their rebuild timeline. I can also see Rose as a stabilizing presence and leader, things that are necessary for building culture. 

But in the game of persuasive writing, a side must be taken. My Drummond stance is hard and unmovable, based upon years of waking up my sleeping kids with rage infused tyrades directed at my TV. With D-Rose, not so much. With that being said…

Thank you for your service Mr. Rose. You have made a fan out of me, and I’ll never forget this brief whirlwind romance. But ya gotta go before your knees fall off.

In the NBA, injuries will find you. There’s nowhere to run to baby, nowhere to hide – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Just looking at the above clip shows you how flukey Rose’s injuries have been. Lots of turned ankles coming down on another player’s foot. Lots of non-contact tweaks caused by his explosive direction changes and balls-out basket attacking. Despite being a 12-year vet, Rose is still playing with a similar type of explosiveness that could make him a victim of his own athleticism at any given moment. Which, in turn, would make the Pistons a victim of yet another missed trade opportunity. 

If you could guarantee continued health for Rose, guarantee Andre Drummond would be dealt at some point (or walk away this offseason), and guarantee Blake Griffin will be healthy next season and playing at his 2018-19 pre-injury level, I would say holding on to Rose would be worth it. A Rose and Griffin led Pistons squad, mixed in with young sharpshooters and athletic bigs, and the financial flexibility of having $45 million of dead weight off the books from the end of the Drummond/Jackson era, and you could easily see a path to dramatic improvement. Title contender? No. 45+ wins? Perhaps. A Griffin and Rose led team is also fertile breeding ground for young player development, particularly in terms of their work ethic and toughness. 

Unfortunately, all of the above hypotheticals read more like a wish list. If I were James Holzhauer, I would bet that Rose picks up another significant injury at some point over the next two seasons. If I were Pete Rose, I would bet that Drummond is not dealt at the deadline and opts-in to his player option next season, extending his disappointing Pistons tenure. If I were Kenny Rogers, I would bet that the 2018-19 Blake Griffin is dead and gone, never to be seen again. 

The odds are stacked against the Pistons. Make the sure play, and the one you can control: Get what you can for Derrick Rose.

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