Derrick Rose Explains Why He Decided Not to Retire From the NBA

About a month ago, Derrick Rose took a leave of absence from the Cavaliersto contemplate his future in the NBA. At the time, there were rumors swirling around about how he was considering retiring from the league as a result of the slew of injuries he has been forced to deal with throughout the course of his career.

Since then, Rose has returned to the Cavaliers, but he hasn’t offered up a whole lot of clarity as far as why he chose to leave the team in the first place. That changed this week, though, when Rose sat down for a lengthy interview with The Undefeated about his decision to step away from basketball for a bit.

During the interview, Rose assured NBA fans that he is "not depressed," which was one of the reasons some people initially thought he decided to distance himself from the Cavaliers. He also promised that he will be back on the court at some point this season, even though he still can’t say when that will be. And Rose explained why he wants to continue playing in the NBA for the foreseeable future. As it turns out, it’s the injuries he’s sustained—and maybe more importantly, the effort he’s put into each and every rehab stint—that continue to motivate him.

"People forget that my first injury was my ACL. A lot of guys would have walked away after that," he said. "I already had my contract and all that taken care of, so a lot of guys would have walked away after that. I’ve had five surgeries, and I had an eye [socket] fracture. I’m too far in to just walk away."

Rose also told The Undefeated that, despite all the heartbreak he’s suffered in the NBA due to his injuries, he still loves playing basketball today just as much as he did when he first entered the league.

"I’m in love with the game," he said. "The love of the game. I still am a winner. I still love learning the game. Where else can you learn more than from Golden State or [Cleveland]? LeBron has been to eight Finals eight times and seven straight years. I played against him a lot of times. I’ve learned so much from him and the whole team. It’s just a fun experience being around this team."

Chris Bosh: 'I plan to keep my options open as a player'

Last summer, the Miami Heat officially parted ways with former All-Star big man Chris Bosh. He was waived on July 4, weeks after he and the team came to a final agreement on how to part ways and more than a year since his last NBA appearance because of blood-clot issues. His departure gave the Heat access to $26.8 million in salary-cap space for next season.

Bosh, who is expected to have his No. 1 retired by the Heat at some point, was on NBA TV's Players Only last night and made it clear he wants to stay around the game in some form.

"I'm always going to be around the game of basketball," Bosh said. "I plan to keep my options open as a player moving forward, but that's not coaching. Maybe front office work, working with teams and spreading the game, maybe teaching the game to young people, that's something that's a very big passion."

Bosh has a desire to pass along how to play without the ball and would ideally like to work with players who may not be the top option on their team.

"I would want to work with guys that maybe aren't starters, guys that are the fourth or fifth option," Bosh said. "To be honest, I'm looking at today’s game and I put myself in that position and how I would benefit from the faster basketball, more threes, catch-and-go opportunities, attacking the paint with more space, that's what kind of gets me juiced up and riled up when I watch today's game. I would really want to teach someone how to function without having to have plays called for you."

Back in 2014, Bosh signed a five-year deal to stay with the Heat -- shortly after LeBron James left Miami for a return to Cleveland. James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade went to the NBA Finals in all four of their seasons together in Miami, winning titles in 2012 and 2013.

Bosh's last Miami deal was worth $118 million. For that, he was only able to play in 97 games.

He appeared in 44 games in 2014-15, his season ending at the All-Star break when the first known clot episode started. A year later, he played in 53 games and - in an eerie similarity - his season again ended at All-Star weekend, when another clot was found shortly after he landed in Toronto for the 2016 All-Star Game.


Bosh hasn't played since, missing Miami's last 125 games. Overall, he played 13 NBA seasons, seven with Toronto and then six with Miami. He was part of Miami's massive free-agent haul in 2010, where the Heat not only kept Wade but landed James to form something that team president Pat Riley felt could turn into something dynastic. He averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in his career.

From dazzling floor, Greek Freak's ceiling not the sole Bucks concern

MILWAUKEE -- As Jason Kidd prepared his Milwaukee Bucks for their much-awaited return to the Mecca on Thursday night, the future Hall of Famer was asked how the smaller arena environment compared to the professional arenas in which he spent a portion of his career playing.

"It's a little cozy," Kidd said before a 96-89 loss to the Boston Celtics. "It's 11,000 [capacity]. People say the Bucks had home-court advantage when we had players like Oscar [Roberston] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] playing. But I think it's gotten a lot bigger, there's a lot more fans. But it just shows how the game has grown from then to today. But it's always good to go back and have the opportunity to play in the Mecca or into the Garden because that's where the game and the history started."

As the Bucks celebrated their past, playing on a new replica Mecca floor like the one artist Robert Indiana made so famous back in the day, they also had another chance to cherish their present and future. As the Bucks embark on their 50th anniversary season, there's a realization around the league that the team is beginning a new renaissance of its own with all-everything big man Giannis Antetokounmpoleading the way. At 22, he hasn't just become the face of the franchise already, he has the type of transformative talent that can change the game. With his 28 points Thursday, he has accumulated more points (175) in the first five games of a season than any other player in Bucks history, and that includes Abdul-Jabbar's total of 166 points in 1970-71, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

But in the midst of all the pomp and circumstance of Thursday's festivities at the now dubbed UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, the Celtics reminded Antetokounmpo and the Bucks that he wasn't going to be able to dominate every single night. Aside from the sellout crowd's proximity to the floor, what really got intimate was the Celtics' defenders in and around Antetokounmpo's airspace. After watching the Greek Freak throttle their team to the tune of 37 points and 13 rebounds a week ago in Boston, the Celtics were determined not to allow the young star to have his way again.

That's why veteran Al Horford followed Antetokounmpo all over the floor and the Celtics were always ready with another body wherever he went. For the first time all season, Antetokounmpo was held under 30 points.
　　
"They're a very versatile team," Brogdon said of the Celtics. "They have [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown, 6-7, 6-8 guys that can really guard any position on the floor so that allows them to switch a lot. If you're not aggressive on those switches then they can really stop your offense."


As the Bucks new multimillion dollar palace rounds into shape down the street, dreams of future glory with Antetokounmpo leading the way will hover in the minds of Milwaukee fans who were lucky enough to see Robertson and Abdul-Jabbar lift the franchise to prominence the first time around. But for as much joy came out of seeing a new era of players race up and down the remake of a beautiful old floor, it was also a reminder that the elusive championship days are still a long way off unless the Bucks can get their young star some more consistent help. In the meantime, Antetokounmpo laid out some pretty simple advice when asked what his teammates can do when defenders are collapsing down around him.

Officially joined the Cavaliers Wade: hope and James three wins champion

Wade has come to the knight pre-season training camp and the team rendezvous Wade in a statement that, with James's deep friendship and the presence of pleasant cooperation experience, is his thunder, the Spurs, the old club heat and knight Important reason, "there is nothing more than here to let me continue to play a high level of content in the field, Cleveland also believe that my strength, as well as the players, leaders and competition for the championship contribution, I We are looking forward to playing with the good brothers LeBron, and we have won two championships, and I hope to win the third. "

Wade and James in addition to the 2003 ladies draft pick is also a friend, 2 people in 2011-14 years with the Heat won two championships, if the new season knight and then win, it will be Wade career fourth crown ( 2006 with Shaquille O'Neal wins the first crown) and the third crown with James.

James is also today after the team practice for the Cavaliers to find Wade move is very happy. "He is one of my best friends, he is the kind of you just go to school into the classroom is not sure who is your classmate, and then you see a friend there, you will have that" Fun, it will be a good class. "

With Isaiah Thomas-Kyrie Irving trade on hold, what's next for Cavs, Celtics?

The Boston Celtics were happy with the trade that netted them All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs were happy with the deal that yielded another All-Star point guard in Isaiah Thomas, three-and-D wing Jae Crowder, promising young center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round draft pick.
Given Irving’s desire to play elsewhere, it was a trade that satisfied both teams.
Until Thomas took a physical with the Cavaliers.

Today, no one involved in the trade is thrilled.
Happiness is fleeting.
The results of Thomas’ physical have given the Cavaliers pause – enough so that voiding the trade is one option, though that would be the nuclear choice in this blockbuster deal. Per NBA collective-bargaining rules, a team can void a trade if a player fails a physical

Thomas sustained a torn labrum in his right hip March 15 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, re-aggravated it in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Wizards and aggravated it more against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the conference finals.

Now, the Cavaliers are conducting a thorough review of the trade and plotting their next step, which may also include asking the Celtics for more compensation.

Thomas did not undergo surgery to repair his hip, and Celtics president Danny Ainge admitted on a conference call last week after the trade was announced that “there’s going to be probably a little bit of a delay for Isaiah as he starts the season this year, but – um – I think that Isaiah should be fine and healthy as the season goes along.”

Word out of Boston is that the Celtics aren’t thrilled with the idea of adding another piece to the trade and are adamant they were up front with the Cavs about Thomas’ injury. However, that doesn’t mean the Cavs’ medical staff sees it the same way the Celtics did. It’s possible the Cavaliers believe Thomas will miss more games than Boston did.

Report: Derrick Rose and LeBron James were in contact during recruitment process

Amid the drama surrounding the Cavaliers following the revelation that Kyrie Irvinghas requested a trade, Cleveland Cavaliers has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $2.1M deal with Derrick Rose. 

And while LeBron James has said that he will stay out of the trade discussions, letting the front office and new general manager Koby Altman handle things, The King was reportedly in contact with Rose throughout the recruitment process. 

It's hard to really tell too much from this, but it at least seems from the outside that the move was co-signed by LeBron. 

He's not actually the GM, despite what the Twitter dot com jokes may say, but James holds immense power and influence and largely dictates the way the team will play. If he didn't think that Rose would be a helpful addition, it's unlikely the Cavs would have signed him, especially given Rose's decline in recent years. 

Thunder's Russell Westbrook wins NBA MVP, but award show does him no favors

The NBA held its inaugural awards show to hand out the 2016-17 season hardware, highlighted by Russell Westbrook winning his first career MVP. USA TODAY Sports

　　Russell Westbrook deserved the hardware.


　　As we discussed more than two months ago, when this debate was front and center and the Oklahoma City Thunder star was putting the finishing touches on one of the more memorable MVP races in NBA history, his triple-double season for the ages deserved to be rewarded. But for the love of Oscar Robertson, was this timing tough or what?


　　It wasn’t Westbrook’s fault that the league decided to wait 75 days to settle the argument by way of the NBA Awards show on TNT, with the 28-year-old beating out fellow finalists James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs. But synergy was sacrificed in the name of the almighty dollar. And by the time Westbrook got his hands on the Maurice Podoloff Trophy that belonged to the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry these past two years – nearly seven weeks after the announcement last season – the optics changed on the MVP race in the kind of way that gave the formal crowning a hollow feel.
It’s all a disastrous disservice to the players who deserve better.

LeBron James Is Indestructible

For all the many things LeBron James is praised for, from his ability to set up his teammates to his capacity to take over a game, his most underappreciated quality may be his most obvious: He's always there.

Since entering the league in 2003, James has never sat out for more than 15 percent of a season (regular and playoffs combined). Among players of his caliber, past and present, that's unprecedented. Stephen Curry had ankle issues at the start of his career; both Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant experienced late-season injuries that forced them to miss the playoffs in, respectively, 2000 and 20131; and Michael Jordan broke his foot in his sophomore season. Then there's James. He's never missed a playoff game, and even though he has the sixth-most regular-season minutes of all time among players at the same point in their careers (within their first 14 years in the league), the most severe injuries he's incurred are a sore back and knee and some untimely cramps.

Quantifying a player's durability is a bit tricky because the NBA doesn't keep track of games missed due to injury, which leaves us no way to distinguish physical issues from other reasons for missing games, such as paternity leave or regular rest. The best we can do, then, is to look at the number of games a player appeared in as a portion of the number of games they could have appeared in. The higher the percentage of possible games played, the more durable the player is.2

This year, James appeared in 74 out of a possible 82 games during the regular season and has played in all 12 of the Cavaliers' playoff games — that's a 91 percent appearance rate. By itself, that statistic is unremarkable. But when you put it in context — James has played in at least 85 percent of his teams' games in every season of his career — you see something special.

Here's James compared to the five inactive players with the highest career win share since 1980.3

The only other past superstars who've played in a higher percentage of their teams' total games are Karl Malone and John Stockton. (It's fitting that a player nicknamed "The Mailman" appeared in 100 percent of potential games 10 different times in his career.) But even they had their injuries. In Malone's case, he tweaked his right knee in his final season and missed nearly half of the regular season. (To be fair to Malone, he was eight years older than James and five seasons deeper into his career.) Meanwhile, Stockton injured his MCL in 1997, forcing him to sit out the first 18 games of that year.4

He's been equally great when compared to the five other active players with the highest career win share.

Truth is, James has been even healthier than those numbers would suggest, because potential games played is a conservative estimate of durability. Some of the games James missed weren't because he was injured, but rather because a coach decided to rest him for meaningless games at the end of a regular season. (A philosophy that Malone is happy to remind people didn't exist in his day.)
All this is even more impressive considering the bruising style of basketball James is known for. Among active players, no one has gone to the free-throw line more than James. It's almost unbelievable that a player who plays such physical ball has stayed so healthy since, as we've seen in this year's playoffs with Blake Griffin, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Isaiah Thomas, it only takes one misstep to end someone's season.