Grizzlies give Derrick Rose and Memphis a chance at the ending they deserve | Giannotto

Don’t overthink this Derrick Rose story.

Don’t focus on the injuries and age that have affected his body and altered his career.

Don’t consider that Rose hardly played for the New York Knicks last season despite a relatively clean bill of health.

Don’t wonder whether Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman chose nostalgia over utility for the team’s final roster spot.

Don’t worry that all those concerns could be proven true by the time the 2024 NBA playoffs arrive, when chances are Rose will be a “DNP-coaches decision” just like he was during the 2023 playoffs.

Instead, consider the feeling. The immediate one anybody who cares about basketball in Memphis had when hearing about this move, before a debate began over the particulars of the two-year, $6.5 million veteran’s minimum contract Rose reportedly agreed to with the Grizzlies after the NBA’s free agency period opened Friday night.

That twinge of excitement, anticipation and, well, shock. It’s at the essence of being a fan. Let it take the steering wheel of your emotions for now.

D-Rose? Back in Memphis? Fifteen years after leading Tigers basketball to the cusp of a national championship? That's irresistible.

Maybe the Grizzlies could have – maybe they should have – gotten something other than a 34-year-old point guard who might not have much left in the tank. But it’s hard to believe the other options would have dragged Ja Morant out of his social media hibernation. And it's impossible the other options would have near the redemption potential of this reunion.

Rose deserved a better ending with Memphis, and Memphis deserved a better ending with him.

It all got so messy, seemingly from the moment a national title the Tigers had within their grasp slipped away in an especially cruel manner.

The wins were stripped and the banners were taken down from that Final Four team because the NCAA decided to retroactively declare Rose ineligible over concerns about whether he actually took the SAT. It turned “strict liability” into part of the city’s vernacular.

Then there was the group of Memphis season ticket holders who threatened to sue over the ordeal, a development that forced Rose and former Memphis coach John Calipari to fork over $100,000 in order to avoid a lawsuit.

Combined with the bitter departure of Calipari for Kentucky, it all led to an uncomfortable relationship over the years. When Rose did play here with other NBA teams – and he has, oddly enough, appeared in only five games at FedExForum during his 15-year NBA career – the reception from Memphians and from Rose never felt quite right.

It speaks to the magnetism of that 2007-08 Memphis team and Rose’s magnetism – and how absurdly good he was before injuries zapped some of his athleticism – that he’s nonetheless a legend here, albeit one who couldn’t be completely embraced. Until now.

That first time he checks into a game in Memphis wearing a Grizzlies jersey will be unforgettable. It’ll probably overshadow the team’s home opener. The roar he hears – the roar the city hears – might be worth whatever consternation exists among those who wanted Memphis to do more with its open roster spot.

But the feeling from here is this won't make or break the Grizzlies’ championship aspirations the next couple years. Those will be determined by the success of the Marcus Smart trade, and by Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. They're all signed to be in Memphis for at least the next three seasons after Bane reportedly agreed to a five-year max extension worth $207 million Friday.

This could admittedly backfire. Rose could become another player at the end of the bench Memphis can't use in the postseason. It had too many of those this year. But a good playoff rotation features just eight or nine of the 15 players on an active NBA roster, and the Grizzlies need another ball handler while Morant serves his 25-game suspension to start the season.

They also need more veterans in the locker room after all the Morant-fueled turmoil that surfaced last season. That’s why Morant’s tweet, in particular, seemed especially important.

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Rose has dealt with off-court controversy, most notably a 2015 rape accusation and subsequent civil suit in which he was found not liable. He felt the weight of carrying a franchise and watched it become too heavy. He grew up under that glare and became a mentor in New York despite being benched. The Grizzlies believe that influence – from a former MVP – will be of significant value to Morant, perhaps more than a back-up wing or a fourth big man.

None of which is exactly odd, by the way.

Golden State had Andre Iguodala at the end of its bench hardly playing this past season. Denver had big man DeAndre Jordan doing the same. The Miami Heat have used their 15th roster spot on Udonis Haslem for years with no intentions of using him in the rotation.

Now Memphis has Rose, and there might not be a more serendipitous storyline this offseason.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Grizzlies' Derrick Rose signing means in Memphis, Ja Morant