“Growing up without my dad being around, it’s definitely going to help me to raise him,” Derrick Rose opened up about his parenting goals when he had his firstborn. A few weeks ago, the Chicago native was happy leaving his legacy behind and focusing on his children. Recently, he even revealed how hard the conversation was about retirement with his son. Further, he added that the role of Kiyan and Carmelo Anthony eased the tough discussion.

“So with PJ, I had to talk to him a little bit different,” Derrick Rose said on the Jeff Teague podcast. “And before then, I’m thinking the whole time, like, damn, when am I gonna have this conversation with him, right? So we talking and he bring up Kiyan, and we was just in the room talking about Melo.”

Derrick Rose is a father of 3 children, a daughter Layla, and a son, London, with his wife, Alaina Anderson. He also co-parents PJ (Derrick Rose Jr.) the oldest kid, with his ex-girlfriend, Mieka Reese. So once his oldest son heard the news of his retirement, he was obviously hurt. However, Pooh explained what eased the pain.

“But after I kept talking to him, he was excited because he seemed like, ‘man, now I get this individual time with my dad,’ and like my son, he know exactly where he’s at right now. Like this moment, he knows exactly where he’s at,” Rose said, via Club 520 Podcast. This difficult conversation was eased because Derrick Rose asked his 12-year-old son, “How you think he (Kiyan) got better?” At first, PJ said personal trainer and later added Carmelo Anthony’s name. “I’m like, you think Melo got nothing to do with that? He was like, ‘Yeah.’”

Kiyan’s journey has been amazing until this point, and his future looks bright. Currently, On3’s list ranks him as the #30 overall prospect and #8 for shooting guard. Not to forget, he also is the #1 player in New York. The 6-foot-5 senior has narrowed down his school list to 3: Auburn, USC, and his father’s alma mater, Syracuse. Apart from Kiyan, Derrick Rose’s son is also learning from another former teammate of his father.

Apart from Melo, Derrick Rose’s eldest has another mentor

Recently, PJ uploaded on his Instagram a compilation of him hooping and Derrick Rose watching from the sidelines. In April, he also won an AAU chip after a major contribution. The caption of the Instagram post read, “PJ hit a dagger three to put the game away 😮‍💨.” The team belongs to none other than Memphis player, Ja Morant.

On the team, PJ is one of two fifth-graders playing on the sixth-grade team coached by Morant’s friend, Davonte Pack. The coach highlighted Derrick Rose Jr.’s gameplay saying that he “has a high IQ for the game.” Moving on, Pooh came to the Grizzlies in 2023 and had the role of mentoring the 25-year-old Morant. The youngest MVP’s son would also often ask if Morant was around.

“Are you by him? Are you on the plane? Can you give him the phone?” PJ would ask. Rose recalled from the dais at FedExForum during his end-of-season conference in April. “Everything that Ja represents as a hooper and role model, my son is able to see that firsthand.” That’s why Rose has his priority set on helping his son’s goals.