Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Derrick Rose is still popular in China

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose might have seen his star fall considerably in the United States, but he — and his shoe — are extremely popular in China.

There aren’t many more polarizing figures in today’s NBA than Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose.

The former MVP has, by any reasonable measure, been a fairly inconsequential — and sometimes, downright bad — NBA player since his first major knee injury in the 2012 playoffs. We’ve debated the merits and drawbacks of Rose on the Timberwolves ad nauseam over the past 18 months or so as the rumors persisted until he was finally acquired late in the 2017-18 season.

Here’s what yours truly said at the time. Spoiler: I didn’t mince words. The below is an excerpt from my take back in March.

"…Rose is a shell of his former MVP self, and hasn’t even been a rotation-caliber NBA regular since prior to his initial ACL tear that cost him all of the 2012-13 season. He’s a bad shooter and a bad defender — the two qualities that the Wolves need the most to improve their current roster.Rose doesn’t exactly have the reputation of a locker room “mentor”, either. His off the court issues are numerous, not to mention serious, and just this season he left the Cavs for a long period of time while reportedly contemplating retirement."

There are plenty of folks who feel differently about Rose, of course, including some of our writers here on Dunking With Wolves: here, here, and (especially) here.

I’ll be the first to admit that the Derrick Rose that Wolves fans saw in the first round of the playoffs against the Rockets is, in fact, a useful Derrick Rose. That version of the player that is still a shell of his former MVP self could contribute 15-20 minutes per game off the bench and score at the rim. He could even provide passable, tough pick-and-roll defense against certain opponents.

But all that said, it’s a fair concern that Tom Thibodeau, or Rose himself, will have a false sense of what Rose can and can’t do at this stage of his career, and that could lead to a reduction in minutes from better players, including Tyus Jones, Jeff Teague, or potentially rookie Josh Okogie.

At any rate, China still loves Rose, and it is the sole reason that, along with James Harden and Damian Lillard, Rose is only one of three athletes with active Adidas shoe lines.

ESPN’s Nick DePaula highlighted Rose’s popularity in China and the continuing popularity of his shoes.

"Although Rose is now a backup earning the league minimum, he’s still the fifth-highest paid sneaker endorser in the NBA, behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Harden. Rose is no longer on the level of those players on the court, but he remains just as popular as any of them in a country that has more NBA fans than the entire population of the United States.According to industry sources, more than 70 percent of sales of the Rose line come from China, where Adidas boasts more than 10,000 stores, with plans to add 2,000 more by 2020. As recently as 2017, Rose’s No. 25 New York Knicks jersey was among the top 10 sellers in China, and he was No. 36 on the ESPN World Fame 100 list earlier this year, largely due to his continuing support from Chinese fans."

The article explores the connection between Michael Jordan‘s popularity and Rose’s status as the next great Bull following M.J., which makes a lot of sense when it comes to the international stage. There were already Bulls fans across the world because of Jordan, and Rose was able to grab that torch and take it further, winning an MVP award of his own.

It’s fascinating that Rose continues to be such a huge name internationally, and there appears to be little doubt that he could head to China and become a star if he wanted to when his days in the NBA are over. There’s plenty of precedent, and perhaps not a more parallel comparison than former All-Star point guard Stephon Marbury.

At any rate, good for Rose that he’s still so popular overseas. He’s clearly the most well-known backup point guard in the world, and that has to mean something, right?