Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose acknowledged there has been, at least at times, tension between him and the team. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported the tension "hit a peak" when Rose declined to help recruit then-free agent Carmelo Anthony.
Rose admitted for the first time he has heard of tension between his camp and the team, a situation not helped by him being sidelined with injuries for two straight seasons.
"I know it's been there," Rose told the Sun-Times. "I heard there were some upset people. I'm happy I didn't personally see it. I don't want to see that.
"I kind of wonder where it was coming from because it seemed like whenever I was around, everything was all right. It bothered me because when I wasn't around, I would hear from certain people that everything wasn't all right."
Cowley reported the tension reached a crescendo when Rose skipped the Bulls' dinner with Anthony in the first week of July, when the team was courting Anthony in free agency.
"Multiple sources in the organization say tension was mounting because Rose allowed his own camp to take shots at the franchise," Cowley wrote Monday. "Gradually, there seemed to be less communication between the Bulls and their biggest star. And tensions hit a peak when Rose, who has a five-year, $94.8 million contract, seemed to blatantly resist helping build the roster in a new NBA where stars increasingly double as recruiters."
Cowley added Rose was "much more aggressive" in pitching Pau Gasol, a sign Rose either learned from his alleged mistake or just may not have wanted to play with Anthony.
Rose also acknowledged in the interview, however, his relationship with the organization was improving.
"It seems like everybody has one goal, from the front office all the way down now," Rose said. "It seems like everyone is finally communicating with each other. That's all we need."
Shortly after the Sun-Times published the article, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf released a statement dismissing the report as false and contending there had never been discord or confusion between the organization and Rose.
