Rose Ready to Lead

Derrick Rose says he’s ready to take over as a leader of this team.  Rose, selected first overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, won Rookie of the Year honors and played well in the team’s playoff series against the Boston Celtics.  The Memphis product expressed his confidence in the team and said he hopes that some new incoming players will help the squad.  “We’re going to be good,” he said.  ”Hopefully the players that come in will be able to get us a little better.  We’ve got to compete when we are out there and not think about the pieces we lost.  We got to build.”

Those incoming players include rookie forwards James Johnson and Taj Gibson, as well as guard Jannero Pargo.  “You want to get farther each year and get better each year,” Rose added.  ”We just want to make it past the first round and hopefully go to the championship.  That’s the goal.”  I’m not sure that either rookie will play a huge role for the team this season, but if one does it’ll likely be Johnson.  His versatility should allow him to play both the three and four positions, which gives the team some lineup flexibility.  Pargo, though, should see time, at least down the stretch, as he’s got a penchant for hitting big shots.

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