Derrick Rose is signing a multi-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, according to SNY's Ian Begley. Rose burst onto the national scene at the University of Memphis, where he nearly led the Tigers to the 2008 national championship. He went on to be drafted No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bulls and became the youngest MVP in NBA history.
Rose's career went in a different direction from there. In a first-round playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers a year later, Rose tore his ACL and missed the entire 2012-13 season. He returned to Chicago afterward, but was never quite the same player and suffered several other serious injuries. He was eventually traded to the New York Knicks, and went on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons from there.
In 2021, he was traded back to the Knicks and grew into an important reserve However, Rose fell out of New York's rotation last season, and the Knicks ultimately decided to decline his team option for this season. That made Rose a free agent before his age-35 season, and with his NBA career nearing its conclusion, he has decided to return to the city where he once starred collegiately.
The Grizzlies are set to be without suspended point guard Ja Morant for the first 25 games of next season. Morant has frequently been compared to Rose in his youth, and now, Rose will not only help fill in the gap while Morant sits, but potentially serve as a locker room mentor for the younger superstar. With Marcus Smart also imported this offseason, Rose will likely come off the bench even while Morant is suspended. When he returns, it is unclear how much Rose will play, but the Grizzlies clearly value what he can bring to the locker room as well, so they gave Rose a two-year deal.
