Don't Forget About Derrick Rose

With the emergence of Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry, along with the upcoming 2010 free agency period, the NBA seems to have forgotten about Derrick Rose. Last season, he proved that he was worth the first overall pick. He led the Chicago Bulls back to the playoffs after a lackluster season and they almost took out the defending-champion Boston Celtics. On a nationally-televisied series, Derrick Rose proved that he was a force to be reckoned with.

The Chicago Bulls were expected to do a lot better than they are this season with the return of Luol Deng. While they are not competing for home court advantage this year, they are right there in the playoff hunt. A lot of that has to be credited to the new team captain, Derrick Rose. There is a lot of hype surrounding third-year pro, Kevin Durant, but the NBA media is overlooking Derrick Rose.

Unlike Durant, Rose led his team to the playoffs as a rookie and in his second year, he will probably lead his team back to the NBA Playoffs. Last season, the endorsements lined up for Derrick Rose and he has not disappointed. What has changed is the fact that LeBron James has taken the spotlight with his new teammate in Shaquille O'Neal. Then, Dwyane Wade was let down by his teammates in Miami, while Kobe Bryant is trying to lead his team to another NBA title. With all of this going on and the strong play of Durant, along with the stellar play of the rookies, Evans and Curry, Derrick Rose has been lost in the shuffle.

Of all of the younger players mentioned, Derrick Rose will likely lead his team to a championship before any of the other players. While Evans and Curry are playing well, their teams are not in playoff contention. Durant, on the other hand is in his third season and his team is finally contending for a playoff spot. Not only is Derrick Rose a great player, but he also has good leadership. In his first two seasons in the league, Rose has been one of the youngest players on the Bulls team. It is tough to be the youngest player on the team and then be the team captain. The fact that Derrick Rose has gotten seasoned veterans to come in and listen to him and allow him to lead is an impressive feat. Kevin Durant was given the reigns to a young team, while the rookies are high-scoring rookies on bad teams.

Do not forget about Derrick Rose.

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Tracy McGrady may land in Chicago

Over ten years ago, the Chicago Bulls offered a deal to the Toronto Raptors that would have sent Scottie Pippen to their team in exchange for Tracy McGrady. That deal came very close to going through, but Michael Jordan threatened to retire if they traded his longtime sidekick. Had the trade happened, there is no telling how many more titles the Bulls would have won. Also, Tracy McGrady would have a better-respected legacy.

Everything happens for a reason and Tracy McGrady would soon bolt Toronto to become a star in Orlando. However, constant injuries led to the Magic never improving, only staying as an average team. After four years of disappointments with McGrady, the Magic traded him to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Steve Francis. The deal obviously worked out in the favor of Houston, while the Magic ridded themselves of Francis.

The same problems that plagued McGrady in Orlando ended up plaguing him in Houston. There were some people that thought that Tracy McGrady teaming up with Yao Ming would result in the Rockets becoming NBA title contenders. While the possibilities are unlimited, injuries limited McGrady. He was injured for so long that the Rockets played better without him. Houston won its first playoff series since the 1990s while Tracy McGrady was out with injuries. They even took the eventual NBA champion, Los Angeles Lakers to seven games.

Initially, Tracy McGrady said that he would sit out the 2009-2010 season, but he felt good enough to try and play this season. When he returned to the Rockets, he no longer had a spot, so McGrady tried to sit out until the executives bought his contract out. However, the Houston Rockets do not believe in buying their players out, instead, they try to trade their players to get something in exchange. Ever since December, the Rockets have been shopping McGrady around. There have been many rumors about where T-Mac will land. Now, it is looking like Tracy McGrady will land in Chicago with the Bulls.

It has been almost two years since Tracy McGrady has played basketball the way that he plays basketball. He was injured for a year and he has been on and off since the start of this season. McGrady is very eager to play basketball the way that he used to. He said that if a deal can be made with the Bulls, he could end up playing as soon as Saturday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

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