Former All-Star point guard Derrick Rose is set to enter his first season with the Cleveland Cavaliers where’s expected to grab a significant role.
However, Rose has continued to face questions about how much he can contribute at this point in his career given that he’s coming off his fourth knee surgery in his first nine years of his career after tearing the meniscus in left knee back in March that abruptly ended his season.
In response to that, Rose told Steve Aschburner of NBA.com on Monday that feels like his critics give off the perception that he’s 10 years 0lder than he actually is.
“I think [the soft market for his services] fueled me into the offseason, and I’ll work on it. But my job is not to listen to what everybody says. I’m the player. I know how good I am. I’m 28. People act like I’m 38 years old.”
Despite all the long history with knee injuries, Rose is just 28 years old, which would put him in the physical prime of his career. He is also coming off a respectable lone campaign with the New York Knicks where he averaged 18.0 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the field with 4.4 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per contest while starting all 64 games played.
Rose will likely take up the starting point guard role to start the season with Isaiah Thomas still on the mend from his hip injury that is expected to keep him off the floor until January. This is a unique opportunity for him to re-establish himself while playing alongside the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Love.
