Suns Free Agent Target: Signing Derrick Rose can help young players blossom

We welcome to Bright Side of the Sun, our newest contributor Holden Sherman! His first piece explores a veteran point guard in our free agent target series.

The unwritten rules of the NBA demand that Phoenix Suns’ forward Kevin Durant be on the same team as one of the dynamic point guards who dominated the 2010s at all times. After tenures with Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Chris Paul, there is no one better and more nostalgic of 2010 basketball than the one and only Derrick Rose to continue this trend.

Rose would not be starting like the other NBA 2k14 cheat codes. However in his latter years the University of Memphis product can be a voice for younger players that preaches the importance of being resilient and staying level headed.

“He got like a great perspective on life because he’s been to the top of the mountain and he done seen the worst of the worst,” Julius Randle, his teammate when he was with the Knicks the past three seasons said about him on Paul George’s podcast recently.

Derrick Rose

• Position: Point Guard
• Vitals: 6’3” tall, 200 pounds, 34 years old
• Experience: 15 years
• Stats (2022-23 regular season with New York): 5.6 PPG, 1.7 APG, 1.5 RPG, 38.4/30.2/91.7 splits, 27 GP
• Contract Status: UFA

Nothing about Rose’s most recent season stands out. His opportunity to show off his talents were incredibly limited after Tom Thibodeau decided to stick with a nine man rotation in December. In the 2021-22 season when he was healthy, Rose was able to bring a consistent scoring effort, averaging 12 points a game on decent efficiency from two as well as knocking down 40 percent of his triples while taking more than three a game.

In their 2021 playoff battle against the Hawks, Rose was New York’s leading scorer. In Game 2, he had a masterful performance, leading the Knicks to their lone win in the series, dropping 26 points, including 10 in the third quarter, helping the Knicks erase a 13 point half-time deficit .

While it’s fair to question whether Rose can return to his play from a few years ago, he’s a player that Phoenix can buy low on that will be eager to help the team. Signing Rose would be a bet on a bounce back season in a rejuvenated, more defined role. With the recent injury history of many of the prominent Phoenix guards, Rose at some point will most likely have an opportunity to take on significant minutes, something he never had a chance to do last season.

With Marc Stein reporting this past week that the Phoenix Suns have interest in signing the former MVP, the possibility of Rose joining the team remains feasible. His recent strong postseason play suggests that he could be someone Frank Vogel can rely on in April.