Here’s what you liked about what Derrick Rose said in his 20-minute introduction Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. His tough talk about “being great,” doing something “special” and “I got to make the playoffs” was exactly what the Knicks and their beleaguered fan base needed to hear.
It took a while, though. At first you weren’t sure whether Rose was happy to be in New York. He sounded almost homesick, admitting “it hurt” to be traded from his hometown Bulls and calling it “an emotional time.” He even mentioned living away from his son.
“Chicago is more than just a home,” he said. “It molded me into the man I am today. All my family and friends are back there.”
But soon the woe-is-me look was replaced by the sound of defiance and purpose, punctuated by a vow “to be great again.” Yes, he has had three knee surgeries, but Rose, 27, hasn’t lost any swagger or confidence, two things that have been in short supply around here during the Phil Jackson era.
Asked by The Post what it will take for him to be great again, Rose didn’t hesitate.
“I feel like I’m great right now,” he said. “Getting through my rehabs and having the opportunity to just play basketball, I felt like the only thing I was missing all these years was my rhythm. I felt like my body was strong. As you go through the season you get nagging injuries, but I felt like my body held up. This summer is all about conditioning and catching that rhythm again.”
When someone followed by asking how close he is to being the player who was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2011, when he averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists a game, Rose gave a realistic answer.
“I feel like I’m close, but me sitting up here and saying it is not going to do anything,” he said. “Next year I’m going to let my game speak for itself.”
You get the feeling Rose isn’t going to ease into the role of team leader. A telling comment came when he mentioned Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks’ resident superstar.
“I happy to be playing alongside someone who I believe is a dog just like I am and wants to win and is willing to do whatever it takes to win,” Rose said.
It’s not the first time Anthony has been called a dog in these parts, but it’s perhaps the first time it was uttered with affection.
“I can’t wait,” Rose said.
The Knicks still must build a roster around Rose, Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, and if Rose gets his wish, Bulls teammate Joakim Noah will soon be wearing orange and blue, too. Then Rose will have to prove he can stay healthy enough to lead the Knicks the way new coach Jeff Hornacek and Jackson hope he can. Having played 10, 51 and 66 games over the past three seasons, Rose wouldn’t predict how much of an 82-game schedule he might play this year.
“There’s no point in doing that,” he said. “I don’t want to jinx myself.”
By then, the guy who had first sounded homesick seemed grateful to be in New York, thanking the Bulls for trading him to the Big Apple.
“I could have been anywhere,” Rose said. “Not saying all the other teams are bad places, but to be in this market, the legacy and history of basketball, coming from the rivalry with Chicago and New York, I’m grateful to be here. I feel like they’re going to appreciate me a little bit more.”
He was working out in Los Angeles when he got news of the trade and will return there and resume a training schedule that has him working out six days a week.
“I feel like something special is going to happen,” Rose said of the upcoming season. “I really don’t know what. The last time I had this much time to focus on basketball was the year I won MVP. I’m just trying to be the best athlete I can become.”
That would be great.