Derrick Rose Points Out Chicago Bulls' Biggest Need

Derrick Rose is already etched into franchise lore as the most significant Bulls figure since Michael Jordan in the 21st century. On Saturday night, when Chicago hosts the Boston Celtics at the United Center, Rose's No. 1 jersey will ascend to the rafters — a permanent monument to his impact and a spiritual totem of Chicago.

But before that moment of honor arrives, Rose delivered a pointed message to the hometown franchise that raised him and watched him flourish, a team that has wallowed in mediocrity for far too long. The harsh reality? It's been ten years since the Bulls won a single playoff series.

The last time they achieved that milestone? Rose was still suiting up alongside his old Bulls comrades — Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah during the 2014-15 season, the same guys who've been hanging with him recently during his jersey retirement celebration tour around Chicago.

"You need a star. You need a superstar to come change certain things," Rose said bluntly during an interview on The 670 The Score's Mully and Haugh morning show. "I don't know where you get that. I don't know if you draft that. I don't know if you trade for that. But whenever you have a team like this, and it's stagnant and they're trying to figure out who's going to take the lead and they're trying to find that identity, normally a star fixes that problem."

The message cuts through the noise with crystal clarity: sign a star, trade for one, or blow it up entirely and bet on drafting the next franchise cornerstone. Ironically, though Rose has deliberately distanced himself from basketball themes since announcing his retirement in 2024, seeking identity beyond the court. Yet his straightforward view speaks directly for Bulls Nation: a revolution is desperately needed.

At least he cares.

Before the Bulls drafted Rose first overall in 2008, they were mired in post-Jordan purgatory. Rose’s advent changed everything. By his third season, he became the youngest MVP in NBA history, leading Chicago to the league's best record and transforming them into legitimate Eastern Conference contenders. He embodied exactly why a franchise needs a transformative superstar — someone who elevates everyone around them and establishes a winning identity from the top down.

Those Bulls teams featuring Rose, Noah, Gibson, Luol Deng, Hinrich, a rising Jimmy Butler and a scrappy supporting cast became defensive juggernauts and perennial title threats. Rose drove that success. He was the reason opponents once feared the United Center.

Now consider the current reality under Arturas Karnisovas' management. After Thursday's narrow victory over Minnesota, the Bulls sit at an absurd 186-186 since Karnisovas orchestrated one of his notorious moves in the summer of 2021 — acquiring DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball in hopes of building a contender team. Five years later, the ledger reads perfectly even: .500 basketball, half-empty promises, perpetual Play-In circuit.

That stunning symmetry tells you everything about the Karnisovas era: Not good enough to compete for championships, not bad enough to bottom out for elite draft capital, but grinding down the fans’ patience. While other “traditional” bottom teams are cashing out through years of tanking, the Bulls’ laziness in retaining aggressively mediocre basketball stinks.

Rose's career with the Bulls contained both uproaring heights and endless heartbreak with injuries that robbed him of his prime. Countless what-if imaginations that still haunt Chicago fans. But the kid from Englewood represented his city with fierce pride, rebranding the Bulls after the Michael Jordan dynasty ended and giving a generation of fans hope.

Now he's coming home with honors and praise, his voice carrying the weight of experience and authenticity. When Rose speaks, Chicagoans listen, but what about this front office, which is clinging to comfortable mediocrity?

As Rose's jersey rises to the rafters Saturday night, we don’t know what the team would be like ahead. Perhaps the front office would never realize how they splurged on the homegrown legend’s effort for rebuilding the identity more than ten years ago.