New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau’s obsession with Derrick Rose

Tom Thibodeau can’t quit Derrick Rose, as the New York Knicks acquire the guard 

The New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons swapping backup point guards really shouldn’t be that big of a story. Even if it does include a former MVP in Derrick Rose; the ensuing reunion is what makes this story interesting.

For the third time on a third team, we will see Derrick Rose coached by Tom Thibodeau. Getting the band back together so to speak, but this band is now down to a duo.

The star-crossed story of Tom Thibodeau and Derrick Rose is not just weird for the number of times they have found each other. It is a loyalty that the NBA has forgotten. The NBA is now a league where few players are safe from trades, and fewer teams are immune from having their best players leave.

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Kawhi Leonard just recently forced a trade to a team, then won a championship, and texted his coach that he is leaving. Isaiah Thomas broke his hip playing for the Boston Celtics and was shipped out the following summer.

Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau tried their hardest to take down LeBron’s Miami Heat team. In almost a cinematic cliche, we saw Rose become the youngest MVP in the league under Thibs and then eventually see his career decimated by injury.

After Derrick Rose’s knee injures in Chicago, it eventually caused this once-promising team with Thibs to dwindle. Thibodeau was eventually let go, and Derrick Rose was traded to the Knicks.

Derrick Rose was miserable in New York; he got through the season but the only exciting thing he did there was go AWOL for one game. Rose left NYC and was brought into Cleveland only to get injured again and contemplate retirement. Eventually, D-Rose was traded and waived on January 18, 2018, by the Jazz. At 29, many assumed Derrick Rose’s career was over.

When everyone gave up on Derrick Rose, Tom Thibodeau signed him to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rose and Thibodeau reunion in Minnesota was brief but it was highlighted by Derrick Rose going for 50 points on Halloween 2019.

Thibodeau wore out his welcome in Minnesota and was let go. After Derrick Rose played out the year, he was able to secure a two-year deal in Detroit. Many wondered if Thibs would be able to find another head-coaching gig after. As people felt his intense coaching style would not resonate in the newer NBA.

The Knicks were desperate as always, even with his flaws they brought in Thibodeau because he brings a culture of defense and passion. In his first season, the Knicks are relevant, still under .500 but they are far from a joke.

In this new location with a new crop of players, it seems Thibs wants a familiar face. Derrick Rose joining The Knicks in some ways make sense and in other ways makes little sense. The feeling still remains the same, Derrick Rose is no longer an MVP but to Tom Thibodeau, he is.

“I wish I knew how to quit you” is a famous line from the movie Brokeback Mountain. While the context for Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau is different it appears Thibodeau does have that problem. He can’t let go of Derrick Rose no matter how hard he tries.

This is the third reunion between the two, and this appears to be at a time where they have re-found themselves. People usually don’t like rewatching the same story over again, but this feels different. This third go-around might not lead to a championship run but hopefully, it ends better than the first two installments.