[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADcJOF6Tilk] The fastest way to get me to cry is to show me an early Derrick Rose highlight tape. Show me the young Derrick bounding through the lane, twisting midair, and finishing acrobatic layups and dunks with a flourish. It’s so much more than watching the skilled moves of a once in a lifetime player; it was watching a too-good-to-be-true story come true. It was watching a team get closer and closer to their championship aspirations with every eye grabbing play of their homegrown son.

In that way, I guess, just as much as it was about a player it was about a city, and just as much as it was about a city it was about a player. When Derrick Rose told his agent that he wanted to be drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he was laughed at. With a 1.7% chance of the Bulls landing a top three pick, it seemed like Rose’s wish was nothing more than a pipe dream. But then it happened. It happened, and Rose became the first ever first pick in the draft to win Rookie of the Year honors. It happened, and Rose became the highlight reel leader of a scrappy, aggressive squad. It happened, and Rose became the league’s youngest ever MVP. We were watching a team grow wings, but also a player who was cementing his legacy in exactly the way he wanted to.

Then Rose tore his ACL in a playoff game against the 76ers in 2012, and things started to crumble. It’s surreal looking back on that because of how much things have changed since. It wasn’t all because of Rose. But the tensions that had existed under the surface started to rise in the absence of a championship backbone. A few seasons of injuries and time out saw Rose’s role diminish because he couldn’t stay on the floor, and his time with the Bulls came to an end in a sadly understated fashion. I’m not doing the downfall of the Bulls justice, but it’s too much for me to write (both physically and emotionally) here.

Rose’s last two seasons have seen him with the Knicks and the Cavaliers where he’s put up decent numbers but has continued to struggle with injuries at every turn. News came out last week that Rose had left the Cavs to ruminate on his basketball future, and that his continuous injuries had taken a lot from his love for the game. As of last night, it sounds like Rose has returned to the Cavs, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

In 2012, if you’d told me that Rose was joining Lebron in Cleveland, I would have leapt from a balcony. 2012 Keegan wouldn’t have been able to handle that, his favorite player joining his mortal enemy. In fact, I can’t think of anything that would have hurt 2012 Keegan more. But now, in 2017, it seems ok to me. There’s obviously a part of me that wishes that Rose wouldn’t play with Lebron, because their competitive narrative was one that I’d lived with for so long- but that angry piece is so much smaller than I would have expected. Shockingly, even with Lebron I want Rose to win. I want him to get his ring, whatever it takes. I don’t care how many teams he has to go to; and I don’t care if people call him a sell out, because I’ll never call him that. At the same time I want Rose to win a ring because I think as fans, we all think that’s what drives players, that’s what makes them happy; and if that’s not the case, then that’s ok too.

If Rose decides to take another leave of absence and retire from the professional game, then more power to him. The story is already sad; it’s already full of heartbreak, and all that’s left is to see how it ends. We’ve seen the rise, we’ve seen the fall, and what faces us is the conclusion. I want it to end with Rose happy, with a ring, or a retirement, because he was loyal, good to his teammates, full of love for the city of Chicago, and through that and above all else, always the basketball player I wanted him to be.