Back in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago native was to be the cut and dried number overall selection and whichever team got him was going to be better almost immediately.
The Miami Heat went 15-67 in a 2007-2008 campaign in which Dwyane Wade was injured for the better part of the year and they featured guys like Chris Quinn and Mark Blount in their starting lineup on a nightly basis. For their efforts that season, the Heat were given a 25% chance of getting that number one pick.
Having said that, The Chicago Bulls had a 1.7% chance (ninth best that year) of getting that number one overall selection after they went 33-49 in '07-'08 and had fired head coach Scott Skiles, current Milwaukee Bucks head coach, mid-season. The firing came on Christmas Eve 2007 to be exact.
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The Bulls have not had much luck in the draft or anywhere since the Michael Jordan era. They had gotten some high lottery picks in some fairly shabby draft classes. For example, in the 2000 NBA draft the Bulls had the #4 and the #8 picks and drafted Marcus Fizer and Jamal Crawford. Neither one of those guys start in the NBA right now and only the good Lord knows what Fizer is doing to make ends meet. Also, in 2002, they drafted former Duke standout Jay Williams and he ended his career before it really started after a motorcycle accident. If it weren't for his ESPN gig, what would he be doing?
All of those guys were outstanding college athletes, but haven't lived up to their potential in the NBA.
Then comes commissioner David Stern, far and away the most powerful man in the Association and therefore one of the most powerful men in America. He could see that the Bulls were wandering around with no direction like Moses leading the Children of Israel, and were in need of something to get that franchise and that market back on track. Chicago is either the third or fourth biggest city in America depending on who you talk to, and that means more dollars to an already flourishing NBA. Do you think it was purely dumb luck?
Stern makes a few phone and pulls a few strings and gets the Bulls the number one pick. With Rose being a Chicago native, he is inherently a fan-favorite. If you ask me, Stern has a history of some real fishy deals behind the scenes. Case and point is the move of the Sonics to Oklahoma City. That was basically a friend (Stern) doing another friend (Oklahoma City business man Clayton Bennett) a favor. Stern convinced the NBA owners that it would be good for the league to have a franchise in OKC, leaving the City of Seattle high and dry. Suspicious e-mails surfaced after the move that Bennett and Stern were two peas in a pod.
I am not taking anything away from Derrick Rose. The guy is obviously very, very talented and is absolutely deserving of the MVP this season. I have the utmost respect for Rose especially with the off-the-court issues surrounding him (see the infamous "gang-symbol photo" and the ACT scandal)and he still continues to play at a very high level while keeping his mouth shut.
I'm just always conjuring up these conspiracies and it wouldn't surprise me that a snake like David Stern would pull a stunt like that.
