Derrick Rose has endured a difficult week in the NBA – but Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson insisted the critics have got him all wrong. “He’s just an awesome dude, man,” Gibson said on Thursday.
The New York Knicks point guard has been at the center of a media storm after he failed to show up for his team’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. The Knicks admitted they didn’t know where he was; on Tuesday, Rose said he had skipped the game without permission to be with his mother in Chicago.
But Gibson, who spent the first seven years of his professional career alongside Rose on the Bulls, said the former Most Valuable Player was simply misunderstood. The Bulls play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night aiming to halt a losing skid that has seem them drop nine of the past 10 games.
Gibson said: “A lot of people misunderstand him because he’s really one of the best, one of the greatest dudes I’ve ever been around. Off the court, personally. On the court, he’s a great guy. He’s never been negative. He’s never been as you quote, unquote say, a hater. He’s just an awesome dude, man. For real.”
Gibson admitted Rose’s no-show had taken him by surprise, but was sympathetic to his situation, and the $200,000 fine that Rose is reported to have received. “I was surprised just like anybody else,” he said. “It’s really hard to go missing in the NBA because you got so many people that’s going to check on you from your agent, you got [team] staff, general managers, team-mates, so it’s really tough, but you never know. Things happen.”
He continued: “I just feel Derrick has grown into his own. He doesn’t really care what people think anymore. Some players tend to go out and just say things ... because they know what fans what to hear. He’s coming at you real, telling you how he feels. Because that kid’s been through a lot, hurting both knees, having the whole Chicago on his back from time to time. From heavy games to big games, I’ve been around him for a long time, and I’m proud of him. He’s going to take some critical hits sometimes, but he’s just being himself sometimes.”
