A Winter in Chicago Without Derrick Rose, Stacey King

Every single time I see the uber-cheesy Derrick Rose commercial—the one with him putting spin moves on the matador and then dunking on a wide open hoop—it reminds me of a very painful reality.

We may have to go a year without seeing him play in a Chicago Bulls uniform.

Sure the NBA’s elite will be playing in games during the first two weeks in November, but it just will not be the same as seeing Rose duel it out with Dwyane Wade or Chris Paul in a REAL basketball game.  

This lockout is coming at the most inopportune time for the Chicago Bulls, who figured to be one of the title contenders for the 2011-2012 season. Their core is in the midst of their prime years with Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah coming together to be a very potent nucleus.

Add in the prospect that we won’t hear Stacey King’s ridiculous commentary along side Neil Funk and this could be the worst winter in Chicago in a while (though meteorologists were already saying the same thing).

To be fair, it's not just in Chicago. Fans throughout the country have begun to voice their displeasure with the NBA lockout. If it weren’t for football, America (with the exception of John Buccigross) might start rioting if hockey were to be the only sport on TV.

But here is what I don’t understand. The NBA seemed like it was at the peak of its popularity last year, with the haters all hating on the Miami Heat and basketball lovers all loving on Dirk Nowitzki. So why do the owners of NBA teams seem so content with wasting away games?

This isn’t the NFL here. People aren’t just going to come back to basketball like they did for football. If David Stern cancels NBA games through Christmas, the league will have some issues on its hands.

Just like I said during the NFL lockout—the owners and players need to sit down and realize that their multi-million dollar contracts aren’t the only thing at stake. What about all the stadium employees, the media members, and us—the fans of the game? All I hear right now is Derek Fisher trying to sound like Barack Obama but instead sounding like a tattle-tale, calling the NBA owners a bunch of liars. It goes both ways Derek—you guys tell your side, the owners tell theirs and the truth lies somewhere in between. 

So in the interest of Bulls fans and NBA fans everywhere: We ask that you stop threatening to cancel more games, David Stern. We ask that you stop having players in sweats and a t-shirt puff their chests out behind you while you talk, Derek Fisher—and just get a deal done. 

We better be seeing Rose fly through the open court and hear Stacey screaming in the background by December. Otherwise, the NBA could see some major consequences in the popularity polls.

So helllllooooooo hockey! Let’s just hope the Blackhawks are contenders this year.