There are lots of rumors about Derrick Rose coming back to the Bulls. Maybe they’re not even rumors: didn’t Rose straight up say he’d be willing to come back? Obviously there are a lot of feelings going on there that would get violently unearthed were such a reunion to take place, feelings from Rose and feelings from the Bulls’ FO and feelings from Chicago fans. Sounds too volatile to me, and besides, why would they bring back Rose when they already have a version of Rose on their roster who is younger and has two intact knees?
No, I’m not talking about Cristiano Felicio. Come on. I lofted this one up for you to knock it out of the park, and you just took a big old swing and missed hard. “Cristiano Felicio”. Get outta here.
Obviously, I’m talking about Walt Lemon. Walter Lemonade Junior, if you want to use his government-recognized birth name. He is D-Rose version 0.7.1b. It’s all there: the born-and-bred Chicago pedigree, the layup package, the sorta-there jumper. He’s lacking a bit in the “nuclear athleticism” department, based on what I’ve seen so far, but that’s okay. That nuclear athleticism is what got Rose into trouble in the first place, and we want to squeeze a few un-injured prime years out of Lemon before he turns 30 and becomes non-prime.
Remember all the hype for Antonio Blakeney at the start of the season (which is now over, HOLY CRAP where did the time go)? Actually I might have been the only one riding that particular hype train, but now I feel sorta sorry for the guy. All of Blakeney’s potential fans have jumped right on the Lemonade Stand (that’s my term for his bandwagon and I’m sticking with it), and I don’t think they’re going to be leaving any time soon. As long as, you know, the Bulls actually keep Lemon around next year. You’d think they would, but a few nice performances at the end of the season for a tanking team are no great indicator of future success, even if he hit some really nice layups during them.