Derrick Rose: Injured Star Taking Up the Pizza Business While Recovering

Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose has found a way to kill some of the downtime he has on his hands as he recovers from his ACL surgery. The Chicago Bulls point guard has become an equity partner in the Chicago-based pizza chain, Giordano's, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com.

The pizza chain is looking to expand to other states, beginning with the Midwest region, and Rose could be its ultimate marketing tool during the process.

The key piece to this pie was former Bull and Rose's agent, B.J. Armstrong, as he made a relationship with Richard Levy, a managing partner in a firm that owns Giordano's and helped get Rose on board with the company.

With Rose having an unusual amount of free time on his hands now that he is out of commission for the time being, taking up a business venture like the one with Giordano's will help keep Rose busy and keep him from dwelling on his injury as the NBA season begins in November.

In an interview with CSNChicago.com, Rose disclosed that his ACL injury is the "closest thing to death" that he has experienced, so his mental state has to have been affected in a negative manner as well.

Rose can now have something that he is involved with that gives him a sense of worth, something that being away from the game he loves so much could have damaged along with his injury.

So before Rose is back on the court serving up his opponents, he will be in the pizza business helping serve up slices of deep-dish pizza during Giordano's expansion outside the state of Illinois.