Where will Derrick Rose go next? Just as teams geared up for the pre-season action, the Memphis Grizzlies dropped a bombshell. “Reports: Grizzlies waive Derrick Rose upon his request,” an NBC headline read. Despite the fact he had announced his plans to return for the upcoming season, New York Post reporter Stefan Bondy also stated that the veteran had contemplated retirement last summer. While it is too early to say whether this is it, the 35-year-old may choose to stay if he receives an offer from a contending team. Looking at the side’s current needs, the Los Angeles Lakers may certainly be primed to make him an offer he cannot refuse!

According to reports, the LA franchise stands as one of the potential landing spots for Derrick Rose. After all, reports have linked the two entities for quite some years now, as the hooper can efficiently serve as a playmaking guard that can take the load off LeBron James. Furthermore, given that the duo have already served as teammates in their respective tenure with the Cavs, Jeanie Buss might want to include a sense of familiarity and nostalgia for her team’s star.

More than LeBron James, however, Derrick Rose’s LA inclusion is heavily speculated to help one other majorly talked-about player. Someone whose development has been a significant priority for the new man-in-charge JJ Redick, that’s Bronny James.

Lakers fans endorse a Derrick Rose acquisition to help with Bronny James’ development- “Let him teach!”

No sooner had Derrick Rose been waived than netizens descended to share their reactions. One of them didn’t choose to mince words and outright said, “He is absolutely what Bronny James need. JJ I hope you hear me. This is the type of player that can transform Bronny to KING JAMES II. Lakers take care of YOURE business. Vet minimum.  Good GOD Reddick it’s handed to you. Let him teach!”

There isn’t much to compare the 35-year-old veteran and LeBron James’s son with, except for their max vertical jump limit. While Rose has been recorded to reach a max vertical height of 40 inches, Bronny has been registered at 40.5!

However, he’s someone who needs the presence of a veteran guard for the moment. Given the youngster’s abysmal stats during his tenure at USC and the Summer League, JJ Redick has come out to state, “As we sort of build out our player development program, he’s going to be an important part of that.” While a specific training regime would be planned out for him, Bronny James could also make use of some veteran influence from Rose, who averaged 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in his 2008-09 rookie season.

Others followed the same train of thought as the above commenter. While one of them did not place emphasis on what Rose can do solely for Bronny, he did ask, “Memphis just released Derrick Rose, should the Lakers bring him in or is he not in the Lakers plans?”

Since 2020, there’ve been several reports every year that discuss Derrick Rose heading to the Lakers, no matter which franchise he was associated with. It was reported that the LA side could trade Kyle Kuzma for the hooper back in 2020- they needed Rose to fill the gap left by Dennis Schroder in 2021 and were then looking into him to replace Lonzo Ball in 2022. Rose’s future wife herself reportedly laughed off the idea of a trade back in 2020, but the franchise continues to persist. As they say, third time’s the charm.

One social media user attached a picture of LeBron and Rose from their Cavaliers days, asking “Should the Lakers sign Derrick Rose?” One commenter replied with a “My dream!!”, fully endorsing the team-up.

LeBron James and Derrick Rose’s partnership was brief, and something that the latter might have avoided if he could. After all, Rose had spent a major tenure with the Chicago Bulls battling the Miami Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy.

Later on, he revealed his true thoughts on what getting the bench role with the Cavs meant to him, stating, “I was just trying to make it back to the league, man. I had to sign with a team that I had battled with for 4 or 5 years. I played with a player I battled with for four or five years in LeBron. Come on, man. It was super awkward, but that was my only way back.” If the years since then have allowed Derrick Rose to let go of that awkward feeling, then the Lakers would certainly be the place for him to head to.

Another individual endorsed the idea of the trade, commenting “Out of sheer love for D Rose and just wanting a Lakers Rose jersey from all the photoshops we saw when we were younger, yes.”

One Google search will certainly yield a whole number of pictures of Derrick Rose donning a Lakers jersey with either a 1, 6, or 10 adorning the front and back. Back in November ’18, LeBron James even took to X, to write, “I need a @drose one (jersey)! #ASAP.”

Bron’s support from his former teammate came after the then-Timberwolves point guard went on to make a career-high 50 points against the Jazz. While we don’t know whether James got his jersey, he can personally ask for it when Rose joins his locker room!

Any ‘awkwardness’ that Rose highlighted feeling with Bron may have been forgotten by the duo’s fans. After all, nothing else could’ve compelled another social media user to put up a video of the duo bonding, with the caption “Derrick Rose In the Lakers with LeBron I want to watch it (heart emoji) (ok emoji)”

If the Lakers hadn’t already caught up to the news, one fan wanted to get a head start on informing them by commenting, “Hello @Lakers Derrick Rose has been waived by the Grizzlies!”

Along with Bronny, Derrick Rose can come in to help Dalton Knecht and Max Christie as well. The latter had a restricted role with the Lakers during the recent season, leaving doubts on whether he would choose to play for another team. However, Christie assured the fans that he would continue to play for the same franchise. Therefore, the point guard could complement the shooting guard, dividing the responsibilities of making field goals and shots from the field.

Overall, the reactions fully endorsed the idea of a Derrick Rose acquisition by the Lakers. While the player was reported to have been waived just a few hours ago, there aren’t many weeks remaining before the season starts. Therefore, time is of the essence!