Detroit Pistons: Injured Derrick Rose shouldn’t play again this season

Players don’t tank, but team Owners and General Managers do, which is why the Detroit Pistons need to shut Derrick Rose down for the remainder of the season.

When you take a look at Derrick Rose‘s stat line, it’s everything, and more the Detroit Pistons could have asked for when they awarded him with a two-year, $15 million deal last summer.  When you look at it, it’s a very team-friendly deal but a contract that aided both parties involved.

Rose’s numbers mirror the production he enjoyed last season as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Not only that, the numbers are nearly precisely the averages he’s compiled throughout his career.

When the Detroit Pistons brought in Rose, he was expected to be the insurance policy to the often injured Reggie Jackson.  We all know Rose’s injury history; the signing came with a lot of risks.  Perhaps both guards would remain healthy, but both could have been lost long-term.  When you pair that with star forward Blake Griffin‘s lengthy injury concerns, it’s a roster that’s a match-strike away from exploding.

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That’s precisely what happened; Jackson missed the majority of the season with a lower-back injury.  It’s been a lost season for Griffin, and Luke Kennard has missed most of the year with knee tendinitis in not one, both knees. Yikes.

Over the course of the season, Rose was forced to miss a few games, most recently leading up to the All-Star break.  For the most part, he’s remained healthy, and he’s been one of the bright spots during a dull season.

Rose’s contract allows for plenty of flexibility next season.  If the Detroit Pistons are out of playoff contention, there should be plenty of contenders looking to add a ball-handling guard who appears to of rejuvenated his career. He will never score enough to be considered a league MVP again, but the slashing guard can score at will with his mid-range jump shot and is fearless to take it right to the rack.

I’m not a fan of “load-management,” but both Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin need to be managed closely the first half of the season moving forward.  The issue in Detroit is, the secondary players haven’t been good enough to carry the team to victory with these better players missing.  Also, we need to understand; they’ve been missing a couple of their top scorers.  Perhaps next season, the Pistons will be able to rotate sitting Griffin and Rose, leaving Kennard and the emerging Christian Wood to be the focal point on offense any given night.

In 50 games this season, Rose has averaged 18.1 points per game along with 5.6 assists and 2.4 boards.  Derrick is shooting a career-high 49% from the field.  Those numbers are almost exactly the same as he produced last season in 51 contests.

With the Detroit Pistons having a substantial opportunity to land a top-three pick in the upcoming NBA draft lottery, why should the team allow Rose to play another game this season?  He’s expected to be sidelined for two weeks with a sprained ankle; there is no reason to bring him back at all.

Detroit would be wise to try and earn themselves the best odds possible at landing the top overall pick.  It will also be beneficial to continue to let the younger players play, evaluating them for next season, allowing them to have plenty of court time going down the stretch.

The Pistons will have an opportunity to have a healthy starting five of Wood, Griffin, Snell, Kennard, and Rose next season.  The organization should allow its casualties to completely heal for the rest of 2020.