In today’s P.C. media climate, many athletes shut out the media in an effort to avoid being misrepresented, but a new documentary gets one of the NBA’s most popular athletes to do the exact opposite.
Stadium’s documentary “POOH: The Derrick Rose Story” debuted Thursday night and contains some of the rawest and most open footage of an athlete in recent memory, including a never-before-seen clip of the exact moment former Bulls star point guard Derrick Rose found out he was traded to the New York Knicks. (RELATED: Remember Basketball Star Derrick Rose? He Just Pulled Off An Incredible Accomplishment)
The clip begins just before noon with Rose being told that his agent BJ Armstrong wants to speak with him, to which Rose replies, “I hope nothing happened … makes me kinda nervous.”
Rose then receives a call back during which Armstrong confirms the rumors that he is headed to New York after meeting with then Knicks President Phil Jackson.
As an overwhelmed and extremely emotional Rose runs outside to try to hold himself together as he says, in tears, “I’m just in awe.”
The moment Derrick Rose found out he was traded from his hometown Chicago Bulls to the Knicks is chilling to watch ???? (via @Stadium) pic.twitter.com/2SW0OmnRtJ
— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2019
Rose, a Chicago native, had been a hometown hero for the city after being drafted No.1 overall by the organization in 2008 and becoming the youngest NBA MVP ever in 2011 at just 22 years old.
Multiple knee injuries kept him sidelined for chunks of the next five seasons for the Bulls. He was only able to suit up for 40% of games during that time period and even missed the entirety of the 2012-2013 season in an effort to fully recover both mentally and physically from an ACL tear in Game 1 of the 2012 playoffs, according to basketball-reference.com.
His trade to the Knicks certainly made headlines, but his tenure there was up and down. He had a bounce-back year statistically, averaging 18 points on 47% shooting in 64 games, but the trauma of being traded still weighed on him, coming to a head when he was fined after mysteriously missed a game and wasn’t able to be contacted for a short period of time, claiming he had to deal with a “family issue.”
To make matters worse, his mostly successful season in New York was ending by yet another knee injury.
Rose limped through much of the 2017-2018 season, appearing in only 25 games total split between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves after being waived by the Utah Jazz. He even left the Cavs for a short period of the season to contemplate his future in basketball because all of his injuries were “taking a toll on him mentally.”
After such a fall from grace, seven years removed from his MVP season, it seemed like Rose was on his way out of the league. The Timberwolves signed him for the 2018-2019 season, and spectacularly enough, he’s shown to be one of the best off-the-bench scorers in the league.
The Derrick Rose documentary #POOH premieres tonight at 7pm ET on @WatchStadium pic.twitter.com/FD0Js9dyi3
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 11, 2019
In 51 games this season, Rose averaged 18 points on a career-high 37% from the 3-point line and 55.7% true-shooting percentage and even put up a career-high 50 points against the Jazz, the team that didn’t believe in him enough to keep him on the roster after trading for him last year.
Rose’s comeback has truly been one of the feel-good stories of this wild NBA season, and this new documentary takes the audience along the entire journey with him.
“POOH: The Derrick Rose Story” will re-air this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Stadium and WatchStadium.com/Live.