Given the fact that Derrick Rose has signed a pair of contracts totaling around $300 million in recent months, it's fair to assume the Chicago Bulls' indefinitely shelved superstar has a fairly tricked out cell phone package. Unlimited texting, long distance calling, Internet access, voicemail; you know, all the bells and whistles. Dude probably has his cell phone game locked real tight. But if there's one thing we know for sure about Rose, it's that he's not using that phone to talk to fellow NBA stars about coming to play with him in Chicago.
Rose caused a minor stir when he said he never reached out to Dwight Howard with trade rumors linking the Orlando Magic center to the Bulls early last season. Rose also didn't do much to try to lure LeBron James to Chicago when the world's best player hit the free agent market during the summer of 2010. According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Rose secretly preferred playing alongside Joe Johnson.
Perhaps now we know why Rose never made a personal pitch to King James two years ago: the last two MVPs don't have each others phone numbers.
In the ultimate fluff piece, ESPN Chicago's excellent Bulls beat reporter Nick Friedell was tasked with asking LeBron and Dwyane Wade if they had any advice for Rose as he begins rehabilitating the torn ACL that ended his season prematurely. LeBron said "get healthy", which is the most politically correct response ever. Then again, why the hell was anyone asking LeBron about this anyway with the Heat facing the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals? Kind of a silly and majorly irrelevant question in this situation, you know?
Ah, but here's the fun part. Despite partaking -- presumably against his will -- in LeBron's signature chalk toss before the tip of the 2011 NBA All-Star Game with the rest of the Eastern Conference starters, Rose and James are apparently super tight bros.
"No, I don't personally have D-Rose's number," James said, when asked if the pair had spoken. "I have never really had an extended conversation with D-Rose. I did say to the media that it sucks that (the injury) happened and I wish him a fast recovery and hope he gets back to 100 percent."
Which begs the question: who has had an extended conversation with Derrick Rose? Unless the topic at hand is candy or syrup or misadventures in slicing apples in bed, this is a man of few words. So, you know, don't feel too bad about it, LeBron. Rose's phone book is probably limited to his mom, a few high school friends, and the Skittles machine repair guy.
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