Derrick Rose thought about walking away from basketball during odd disappearance

The Derrick Rose saga surrounding his odd disappearance from the New York Knicks this week continues to get stranger by the minute.

For those out of the loop, Rose simply missed his team’s game a few days ago without explanation. Coaches and the front office didn’t have a reason or wouldn’t tell, before revealing it was a family situation. Rose returned the next day and got slapped with a fine, then talked with the media about his absence.

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, though, just added a whole different layer to the story:

Rose, according to two independent sources who spoke to the Daily News on the condition of anonymity, was such an emotional wreck Monday afternoon that his only solution was to abruptly leave the Knicks to be with his mother and his son.

In fact, Rose’s state of mind was such that for a brief time he talked about walking away from basketball for an extended period of time to clear his mind. That seems hard to believe since Rose is only 28 years old and could land a lucrative free agent contract this summer, something he talked about two years ago.

Indeed, the idea of Rose stepping away from the game during a chance to impress teams and make huge cash on the open market this offseason makes this new report seem weird.

Then again, if one listens to the interviews, Rose sounded truly like a man shutting everything out, the game he loves included.

Keep in mind Rose has been an odd fit with the Knicks, has been benched recently and has never played away from his family like this. The situation seems to have snowballed into what we have now. For Rose’s sake, here’s to hoping everything straightens out, no matter what happens between him and the Knicks this offseason.