Derrick Rose & The Class Of 2010

When Derrick Rose became the first Chicago Bulls player to make the NBA All-Star team since Michael Jordan was the last to do so in 1998, it just might have changed the landscape of the 2010 free agency class.
Allow me to explain.

In spite of having one of the NBA's worst head coaches, Derrick Rose has single-handedly put Chicago Bulls basketball back on the map.

Between this killer crossover...



... and this thunderous dunk ...



... Rose brings the kind of star power Chicago has not had since Jordan last soared across the city skyline.

The biggest fear Bulls fans have about this free agency class is that none of the premier players will want to come to Chicago as the rejections from Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and others are still fresh in the minds of Bulls fans. 

(Apologies to those of you who were really trying hard to remove the Ron Mercer-Eddie Robinson era from your brains.)

It's a legit concern, but unlike that batch of free agents, this group already has established contributors on board.

If this excites any free agent in particular, it might be LeBron James.

After reading this tweet , ESPN's Bill Simmons and I must be drinking the same Kool Aid because we're both convinced James is coming to Chicago.  TBL is convinced we're smoking the funny stuff.  I'm not buying it. (However, I am buying Simmons as being the next Bulls GM, especially after this tweet.)

Personally, I'm convinced that everything, with the exception of Madison Square Garden, tied to the NYC hoops scene is overrated.

As a SIU alum and Saluki fan, I'll take Brooklyn-born center Eugene Teague and grad assistant Koby Altman, but you can keep Starbury, Telfair and the rest of the over-hyped and underwhelming point guards, take 'em to The Rucker and have a nifty street ball tournament.

But this isn't limited to LeBron.

If you're Chris Bosh and you've been hidden in relative obscurity in Toronto, you would cross the border so quickly you would forget about the wonderful healthcare system Canada has to offer to play along side Rose.

Same goes for you Amare Stoudemire.  Just think of it as playing with a younger Steve Nash.

How about Joe Johnson, a 6-foot-8-inch shooting guard who can create off the dribble as well?  He could come to Chicago and become one half of an elite 1-2 backcourt punch for the next five years.

Dwayne Wade, anyone?  Much has been made of a potential homecoming and the All-Star, All-Chicago backcourt of D-Rose and D-Wade.  But very few have mentioned the kind of burden that would be lifted off Wade's shoulders knowing he doesn't have to be the primary ball handler all the time.

In two years, Rose has already established himself as a star and the kind of player established stars would want to play with.

I know that sometimes people dismiss All-Star status, but at the end of the day, for better or for worse, when we talk about Hall of Fame careers, one of the things we look back on is how many times a player made the All-Star team.

And having Derrick Rose on board puts the Bulls one step ahead of the curve in luring a sidekick for Chicago's current superhero.