Sept. 29--So it turns out Derrick Rose is just like all the gamblers who will enter DraftKings and FanDuel fantasy sweepstakes this NBA season -- less focused on how the Bulls do than on individual stats and the jackpot they may bring.
This is America 2015, people. Land of the free and home of the paid.
Even before he got injured yet again practicing Tuesday, Rose told reporters that his primary focus as training camp opens is his coming free-agency, still almost two years off, and the payday he expects.
"It's all for my son, even though we're comfortable," Rose said.
Derrick Rose is in the Derrick Rose business.
This may come across as unseemly and shortsighted to the extent that it might turn off those whose support brings in the money Rose hopes to command. But it's hardly unusual among those in Rose's current eight-figure income bracket who wear long pants to work.
How different is he than the dot-com entrepreneur, Wall Street trader or real estate mogul eager to take his profit as soon as allowed and shift attention to the next big potential windfall rather than continue to nurture what he's already established?
People who care about the Bulls, shell out for tickets, watch them on TV and buy merchandise, keeping the whole cash cow happy and healthy, presumably would prefer to hear Rose talk about how his primary focus is on knocking off LeBron James and Cleveland and, you know, winning something.
Doing that might in fact enhance Rose's free-agent value, as he's seen by some as a depreciating, fragile asset.
What Rose actually said, however, is consistent with the not uncommon mindset of dealmakers who wring value from assets no matter what's left behind when they're done.
It's aligned with CEOs who put share price -- and bonuses tied to it -- ahead of the enterprise's long-term future.
The mistake we make with Rose -- and we've made it before -- is buying into the idea that everyone out there is in it for the love of the game, hoping to bring home a championship and the rest of the Madison Avenue script.
Rose, as was his right, already sacrificed a measure of his team leadership role when he made nursing his knee injuries the priority over implications for the Bulls at large.
That's not necessarily something fans, image consultants or management coaches get behind. But it's not unheard of, just rarely conceded.
Rose also isn't the first athlete to whom the score that matters most is the one with a dollar sign to the left of it.
Plenty of aging stars in a variety of fields stay in their game longer than they'd like because there's less in the savings account than they want or need. Few state it so bluntly.
Rose may not have meant to be so candid, but he was muddling through a response to a question about the mental toll of an ex-girlfriend filing suit against him in Los Angeles alleging that he and two friends sexually assaulted her.
Rose said his focus has been on "making sure my family is financially stable. ... You see all the money they're passing out in this league -- just telling the truth -- and knowing my day will be coming up soon."
It's good to have goals.
If a guy can't ensure his family's financial stability after two NBA contracts worth north of $115 million, not to mention a $185 million shoe contract, what he really needs is a financial planner.
In an "I want everything I can get" world where you can sell a $13.50 pill for $750 if you think you can get away with it, you give it a shot and duck.
"I know I'm great," Rose said, more than four years removed from his NBA Most Valuable Player award.
Honors and trophies don't show up on a spreadsheet.
When it's all business, it's all just numbers.
philrosenthal@tribpub.com
