Derrick Rose enjoying 'repaired' relationship with Chicago
Derrick Rose had to drop out of this weekend’s skills competition due to an adductor strain, but he’s not letting that stop him from enjoying his hometown of Chicago during NBA All-Star weekend.
Rose, who has looked revitalized on the Detroit Pistons this season, decided to make the trip to Chicago anyway, and had a chance to speak with ESPN amidst several engagements — he had a signing for his book “I’ll Show You” and participated in a panel discussion called #TheRightConversation, held and moderated by the nonprofit Everyone Has a Story.
Rose heard chants of “MVP! MVP!” as he walked on stage at the panel, a far cry from the hometown reception he received after his 2016 trade from the Chicago Bulls to the New York Knicks. He’d been drafted first overall by the Bulls in 2008, and felt like the city wanted nothing to do with him after he left. Time heals all wounds, though. Chicago is welcoming him back with open arms, and Rose is happy the relationship has mended.
"I think it's repaired well. I just know the chi. My vibrations were low," Rose told ESPN. "When your vibrations are low, you hear everything, you seek everything, and me seeking or hearing everything. That was just me being attracted to how I was feeling at the time, and that's negative, so when I changed my vibrations and matured as a person and as a man, that's when I started to grow and develop who I was as a person and individual and change my character."
Rose has changed more than that. He opened up about his life with the crowd at the panel, talking about his post-traumatic stress from a difficult childhood and the mental health issues he dealt with while he was trying to heal from injuries several years ago. He also gave a very intense message to his younger self.
"I would say, 'Watch what you pray for,' because when I was younger, my goals used to be crazy, but at the same time, the older I got, I wasn't ready for it," Rose said. "I knew I wasn't ready for a goal like that. I wasn't ready for a championship. I knew I wasn't ready because I used to say to myself numerous times like when I go out in public now, I can barely go places. So, what happened if I did win a championship? How would that be? How would I be boxed in even more? How would I live and have to move around?”
Many players — whether they’re 16 or much older — just think about a championship in terms of feeling and emotion. Rose wishes he’d thought about the ramifications about fame a lot earlier.
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