Move Derrick Rose Off The Ball? Say It Ain't So!

Let's hope Flynn misheard Bulls brass at workout

By EAMONN BRENNAN

Updated 2:18 PM CST, Fri, May 29, 2009

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Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Bulls had worked out former Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn. A tough, versatile point guard, Flynn would be a nice draft pick for the Bulls. Naturally, Flynn is projected to be drafted before the Bulls' pick at No. 16. Figures. Still, the work out signaled that Chicago was at least looking all over the court -- not just at the center position, or just at athletic wings -- for help putting talent around young star Derrick Rose.

But if Flynn's read on the Bulls' draft desires is correct, um, we're going to have some problems:

"I couldn't understand why they would bring me in either," Flynn said at the NBA predraft camp at Attack Athletics, confirming the Tribune's report of his Sunday workout. "But they said there are times they wish to move Derrick [Rose] off the ball. When they said that to me, it fell into place."

Whoa, wait. Time out. Read that quote closely again. Did you catch it? "They wish to move Derrick off the ball." Oh, man. Oh man oh man oh man.

This is a horrible idea. Why is this a horrible idea? One: Because Rose is not a scorer. He is a point guard. His shot, though it improved toward the end of the year, is not particularly good. Why move him off the ball? His skills are at their best when he has the ball. Any normal, rational person -- we're not even sure you have to be a basketball fan to realize this -- would seek to maximize those skills by keeping Rose on the ball for as long as possible. That's when he does good things.

What do the Bulls think? That he's going to suddenly start coming off screens and hitting fadeaway 15-footers? That he's going to start playing like Rip Hamilton or Ray Allen or Ben Gordon? No. No no no. When you have Derrick Rose, you give him the ball as much as possible and you tell him to run the show. It's the only sane way to coach him.

Let's hope the Bulls were just saying this to Flynn. Let's hope they were preserving his notion of being an NBA starter next year, or something. Because if they're serious, all those doubts and fears and night terrors we suffered at the notion that the inept Bulls front office -- and a new, clueless coach -- were going to ruin a fantastic young talent will come flooding back, and we won't be able to sleep ever again. Don't do this to us, Bulls. We beg of you.

Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.