Derrick Rose gets a warm welcome from Bulls fans who haven't forgotten him

CHICAGO — The game was out of reach and the fans were streaming for the exits, but those who stayed had one bit of interest — seeing hometown hero Derrick Rose on the court.

With the Knicks up by 29 and the fans chanting, “We want Derrick!” and “MVP!” Tom Thibodeau made the call and Rose came running from the tunnel where he was warming up on an exercise bicycle.

He reported to the scorer’s table to a standing ovation and entered with 3:31 left. The crowd grew even louder, exploding when he connected from three-point range on his first attempt.

“It’s the whole thing. It’s the same,” he said of his thoughts as he ran to the scorer’s table after being dropped from the rotation and failing to play at all in the previous five games. “It’s all love, though. I’m happy to be playing. I’m happy to be with the team. I’m very fortunate, and it’s just knowing that the position I’m in, there’s hundreds of guys that wish they could have my spot, so just taking in every moment.”

Why the crowd reaction? The explosive Rose averaged 21.0 points and 6.8 assists per game in his first four seasons for the Bulls. He was named the league’s MVP in 2010-11, when he averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists, before suffering an ACL injury the following season.

Thibodeau said he asked Rose if he was OK with entering this sort of blowout, something he is hesitant to do with veterans. He said he couldn’t repeat the answer.

“Oh, yeah, I couldn’t say it,” Rose said. “I couldn’t say it right now because they said they’d fine me or something like that. But I told him I’m ready. So I’m just blessed that we played a great game and it allowed me to go out there and play.”

“It’s not an easy thing, but like I told you, I can’t say enough about Derrick,” Thibodeau said. “And when I say that, it’s long-standing, it’s a long relationship. And we have a lot with each other. Whatever role he’s been asked, whether he was the MVP playing virtually every minute to when I picked him up in Minnesota, I didn’t know what the role was going to be. And then he starred in that role and he starred with us when we brought him to New York. And he’s starring in the role that he’s in right now.”

Said Rose, "I feel like I’m adapting. I mean, the situation I’m in right now, I’m just happy that I didn’t lose it by the way I was playing. Or I didn’t get benched because of my play. I got benched because of he wanted to see how Deuce [McBride] looked, and it’s a younger guy getting into the rotation. So how I can hate on that? That’s how I looked at it.”

Thibodeau suggested that when Rose’s playing days are over, his jersey should hang in the rafters at the United Center.

“I’m hopeful. My opinion is he is deserving,” said Thibodeau, who coached Rose for much of his tenure in Chicago. “I’d love to see it. I think there were a few players that were on that team that deserve consideration to be up there. And so, what Derrick did for this organization, what he did for the city and what the city and the organization did for him — I’d love to see it. In my opinion, he’s a Hall of Fame player.”

“Of course I’ve thought about it, but only from people asking me about it,” Rose said. “Yeah, for me it wouldn’t be a big problem, but for my family members to see that and the people that have supported me all these years to be part of it, that would be cool. I know the love I’ve received, no matter if it’s here or somewhere else, that’s all I need.”

His feelings about the Hall of Fame are similar — although he went on a deep tangent.

“Who wouldn’t want to make the Hall of Fame one day?” Rose said. “But there are a couple ways you could look at it. I’d be very grateful for that, but at the same time, can someone in here name a famous gladiator?

“I’m saying it in a way that like in 200, 300 years, nobody is going to care about what went on. For me, the knowledge, the wisdom, the love, the capital I got from this sport allowed me to do a lot, and I’m very grateful and appreciative of that. The things I want to do after basketball I feel like is going to be bigger than what I do in basketball.’’

In the meantime, any talk of Rose’s future honors will have to wait because he has no plans to exit the NBA yet.

“I feel good. I’m able to condition, I’m able to run,’’ he said. “My body, I’m underweight.''

He has talked about “Tom Brady it” as his plan.

“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” Rose said. “Tom’s still going until they kick him out too. You know what I mean? Yeah, I feel healthy. I’m not trying to [bully] a young man’s spot on the team, but I feel like I’m healthy enough to play. I can still add something to the team.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.