LeBron James Says Lil Baby Is The "Youngest MVP Since Derrick Rose"

LeBron James gives Lil Baby the strongest praise, claiming he's the youngest MVP since Derrick Rose.

At just 25-years-old, Atlanta rapper Lil Baby is starting to build an empire for himself. He serves as a measuring stick for up-and-coming artists in his city, establishing his 4PF label and signing stars-in-the-making like 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez. With the deluxe version of his #1 album My Turn out now, featuring six brand new tracks, Lil Baby is being celebrated as one of the hottest rappers in the world. He's earned some strong praise over the last few weeks, including from Lil Wayne who called him his favorite artist, and now LeBron James is joining the party.

The Lakers' superstar forward has been supportive of Lil Baby in the past but this is the surest he's sounded about the rapper being a true icon. Retweeting a message about the artist, Bron went and handed this year to Lil Baby, naming him the youngest MVP winner in recent memory.

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"Lil Baby is the youngest MVP since Derrick Rose. This kid is special," said somebody on Twitter. The post was shared by LeBron James who added: "FACTS!!!!!!!!!!! 1,000%."

Considering the fact that James is a multiple-time MVP winner himself, this is a big honor for Baby. In fact, Bron was on track for what could possibly have been his latest Most Valuable Player award before the season was shut down.

Do you think Lil Baby is rap's MVP right now?

Lakers Tried Trading Alex Caruso For Derrick Rose: Report

Los Angeles Lakers reportedly tried to use fan favorite Alex Caruso as part of a Derrick Rose trade package.

The Los Angeles Lakers' third-year point guard Alex Caruso has established himself as a fan favorite this season and someone that LeBron James view as the true GOAT. Even though his stats may not reflect it, Caruso's energy off the bench on both sides of the ball has made him a valuable piece of this Lakers' roster in their pursuit of an NBA title.

In fact, the Lakers organization thinks so highly of The Carushow that they tried to use him as a centerpiece in a deadline deal for highly coveted veteran point guard, Derrick Rose.

Lakers Tried Trading Alex Caruso For Derrick Rose: Report

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According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Lakers offered to trade Caruso and draft compensation to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Rose, but the Pistons rejected the deal. Charania reports that the Pistons placed a "high value" on Rose, which was apparently more than the Lakers were willing to pony up. Detroit elected to hang on to D-Rose, but he recently suffered a Grade 2 knee sprain that will keep him out of action for several weeks, and potentially the remainder of the year.

After striking out at the deadline, Los Angeles ultimately settled for free agents Markieff Morris and Dion Waiters to give them some added depth as they gear up for the post-season.

Derrick Rose’s Injury Status Updated After Sprained Ankle

Derrick Rose has been a key player for the Detroit Pistons although that could be in jeopardy now.

Derrick Rose has had an interesting NBA career. There were times when people thought he could be the second-coming of Michael Jordan in the city of Chicago. He was supposed to take the NBA crown away from the likes of LeBron James. Unfortunately, an injury changed the entire course of his career. After bouncing around the league quite a bit, Rose landed with the Detroit Pistons in the offseason and has been quite good for them. Unfortunately, Rose suffered a right ankle sprain recently and had an MRI to check the severity of it all.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Rose’s MRI came back negative which is good news. Despite this, he will still have to miss a few weeks of action and will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks. At this point, it’s uncertain as to when he will be back in the lineup.

Derrick Rose's Injury Status Updated After Sprained Ankle

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The Pistons had some potential this season but long losing streaks eventually squandered their playoff chances. They are 12th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 20-42. Moving forward, it’s pretty clear the team won’t make the playoffs, especially if they lose Rose for the rest of the season.

Regardless, it’s been good to see Rose playing like his old self again. It’s just unfortunate we won’t see as much of it in this last stretch of the season.

Derrick Rose’s Magical Career Revival: A Rose Is Still A Rose

After nearly walking away from basketball, Rose is back to having fun playing the game he loves.

The stage was being set perfectly for the drama to unfold, the likes of which we only see in Hollywood. A hometown kid blossoming into arguably the league’s best point guard - in the shadow of the league’s greatest player ever. He had put the weight of expectations, the franchise, and the entire city of Chicago on his back and was touting them towards the NBA finals for the first time since the aforementioned Jordan hit the most memorable shot in NBA history, securing the franchise’s 6th championship. It all felt right. Fitting. The year was now 2012, 16 years after the '96 Finals. The Chicago Bulls, like their leader, seemed to be an unstoppable force of destiny in the Eastern Conference. That was until the clock struck midnight on that Cinderella story and we all gasped as Derrick Rose clutched his knee with 1:19 left in game one of a home playoff match against the Atlanta Hawks. It stands as one of the most haunting calls in sports: “holding onto his knee, holding onto his knee and down…” On that day Derrick Rose’s fairytale career took a somber turn. From that moment Rose lost his cloak of invincibility and for years to follow the Most Valuable Player dealt with injury after injury, personal battle after personal battle - which left many wondering if his career would soon end unceremoniously. But it is was his resilience that would define him, not his trials.

Former teammate Joakim Noah said on the Pardon My Take podcast that if D-Rose didn't get hurt, the Bulls "would be holding that trophy up. In my mind, still to this day, there's no question."Noah references the early 2000s when he and Rose, along with a scrappy cast of Bulls, were the biggest threat to the NBA. Rose did return following the gruesome knee injury, but after multiple knee surgeries and a fraught relationship with the media, Chicago traded Rose in 2016. He would later be traded again by Cleveland and then cut by Utah. Many felt that was the last chapter of a career that once seemed destined for greatness. To further dissolve his reputation, Rose dealt with a civil suit that alleged rape beginning in 2016. There were, however, no criminal charges filed and he was found “not liable” in that case. In the midst of these tribulations, he publicly wondered if he should step away from the game for good. Rose took leaves of absence from both the Cavaliers and Knicks for personal reasons on several occasions. Pundits and writers across the league were confounded by his waffling. Oh, how I’m sure that day in 2012 haunted him. How he wished he could go back to that moment and be the person he was before the injury. But after some soul searching, Rose recommitted himself to the game. He also committed himself to grow as a man. Rose told ESPN when talking about his journey to becoming who he is today: “I just know, [in] Chi my vibrations were low - when your vibrations are low, you hear everything, you seek everything, and me seeking or hearing everything. That was just me being attracted to how I was feeling at the time, and that’s negative, so when I changed my vibrations and matured as a person and as a man, that’s when I started to grow and develop who I was as a person and individual and change my character.”

The former Memphis guard re-emerged with a newfound sense of self and a rejuvenated passion for the game. He embraced a role coming off the bench for Minnesota and that’s when things began to turn back in his favor. During his time with the club, he starting looking more and more like the Rose we fell in love with. In his finest moment in the last five years, Rose scored 50-points with the Wolves in an incredibly emotional game.

Fast forward to 2019-2020, Derrick Rose has been one of, if not the best story of the 2020 NBA season. Producing like a fringe all-star and occasionally delivering some of the magic that once made him a marquee superstar for one of the league’s most beloved franchises. Rose’s per-36 minute production ranks on par with his MVP season of 2010-11. He is averaging 18.5 points on 49.8 percent shooting and 5.8 assists this season. Head Coach Dwayne Casey says Rose’s play is reminiscent of his MVP season, telling the Detroit News, “He just shows his talent. Talent wins in the NBA and he’s one of our most talented players. We had (Rose) off the bench just to control his minutes and that’s on me and it’s on us (coaches). He’s been great; he’s been like the Derrick Rose of his MVP years.”

His fractured relationship with the city has healed since the Bulls parted ways with him. Just as Rose’s body and mind have healed from 2012. In a few returns to the United Center, where he first injured his knee, Rose had chants of M-V-P echoing through the famous building. Showered with love from his hometown fans. Rose will forever be tied to his hometown. The three-time all-star routinely gives back to the community and his presence can be felt. During all-star weekend he was there speaking on a panel about mental health. Which is important because his comeback has been just as much mental as it as physical. He could also be found signing his newly released book titled I’ll Show You. A return to the Chi wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility and after the last chapter of his hometown story looked written in 2012, what a final act that would be.

Stephen A. Smith Explains Why Derrick Rose Is Perfect For The Lakers

The Lakers could use an extra piece.

In just two days from now, general managers around the league will be scrambling to make trades that will benefit their teams in either the long term or the short term. Some teams are looking to rebuild over the next few years while some squads are taking a win-now approach. The Los Angeles Lakers fit within the latter as they have an aging LeBron James and Anthony Davis who becomes a free agent this summer. Many feel the Lakers still need another piece in order to win the championship this year and First Take host Stephen A. Smith just so happens to be one of those people.

On today's episode of First Take, Smith suggested the Lakers go after Derrick Rose of the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers have expressed interest in Rose and Smith thinks he's a perfect fit for LA's offense. While Smith admits Rose would be a great addition to the purple and gold, he also thinks the Lakers would have to move too much to get him.

The asking price for Rose is extremely high as the Pistons are expecting at least a first-round pick in return. Following the Davis trade, the Lakers don't have very many assets to give and they would have to resort to trading their bench players, as well as a young star like Kyle Kuzma.

Stay tuned for trade deadline updates as we will be sure to bring them to you.

Derrick Rose’s 2011 All Star Game Sneakers Re-Releasing For All Star Weekend

Rose’s 2011 All Star Game sneakers returning on February 14.

Adidas reportedly plans to bring back one of Derrick Rose’s classic sneakers in honor of the All Star festivities in Chicago next month. According to reports, the Adidas D Rose 1 “Simeon,” which Rose wore during the 2011 NBA All Star weekend, is slated to re-release on February 14.