Grizzlies Waive Former MVP Winner In Final Week Of Offseason

The Memphis Grizzlies have decided to waive former NBA MVP Derrick Rose a week before the start of training camps across the league as teams finalize their rosters for the season. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news, with many fans upset at the thought of the iconic guard being without a team to start the 2024-25 season.

Rose averaged 8.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists last season with the Grizzlies, struggling with injuries as one of the many players on the roster to miss major time. As the Grizzlies saw multiple players have breakout seasons with the additional opportunity last season, the franchise needs to streamline its roster as it hopes to be competitive.

Derrick Rose isn’t an MVP-caliber player anymore, barely cracking the rotations of the teams he’s been on for the last three seasons. It’s wonderful to see him extend his career by almost eight more years after many assumed he was done in 2017, but the end of his incredible career seems near now.

He was expected to play a veteran role for the Grizzlies as a respected locker-room presence, though Rose denied joining the franchise to be a babysitter for the problematic Ja Morant last season.

“I’m not here to babysit, I’m not here to follow you around, I’m not here to cheerlead,” Rose said per Teresa M. Walker of AP. “I’m here to push you. In the league, there are very few opportunities where players get a chance to play with somebody who has a similar style of play. I’m very fortunate to be in a situation where a lot of people look at his game and they kind of compare our games together. But he’s on a whole other level.”

The knowledge Rose must have passed on to Morant, a point guard with a very similar style, should help the young point guard raise his level even more in 2024-25.

Derrick Rose Has Overcome A Lot To Stay In The NBA

Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP the league had ever seen in 2011 but that potential went nowhere due to Rose’s knees not being able to withstand his unreal athleticism. Injuries stole his prime, but he managed to stay in the NBA despite almost retiring after being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 at 28 years old.

Rose persevered and can boast a 17-year NBA career to his name. For an athletic point guard whose prime is over a decade in the past, it’s incredible to see Rose achieve this longevity.

He averaged 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists over his career, winning the 2011 MVP over LeBron James, making three All-Star teams, and one All-NBA team. Despite knee injuries stealing his prime from him, Rose stayed dedicated and has spent the better part of the last decade as a solid role-player, even competing for the Sixth Man of the Year award a few seasons ago.

We don’t know if any team will pick Rose up before the start of the season, but he’ll be a coveted mid-season signing for a contending team if they have injury issues at point guard or just need the energy of someone like Rose in their locker room.