Goodbye to Derrick Rose, Forever a Chicago Bulls Icon

Derrick Rose has announced his retirement from the game of basketball on Instagram . Merely days after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, the youngest MVP in the history of the NBA has decided to hang up his boots. Perhaps he had made up that decision in his mind much earlier.

It was just yesterday that we had suggested the idea of the Chicago Bulls bringing back Rose for 'one last dance' before he called it a day. Unfortunately, there won't be a retirement tour for DRose.

At a moment like this, it is easy to wonder what his legacy in basketball is. It is even easier to wonder what it could have been.

He was the boy from Chicago who was supposed to take the Bulls back to Championship glory.

He is the youngest MVP in the history of the league. A crown earned while LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were performing at the peak of their powers. Who else can say that?

One of the most explosive players in the history of the game. Someone capable of scaring the opposition.

Unfortunately, we barely got to see Rose in his prime before injuries permanently altered his game.

That is the cruel thing about sport. Everything is a house of cards that could fall apart at any given moment. One misstep, one poor tackle, one bad landing, and things might never be the same again.

In our eyes, Rose's time after leaving Chicago was just as inspiring as his prime years with the Bulls.

It would have been so easy for Rose to be obsessed with trying to rediscover his pre-injury MVP self. Instead, he gracefully took a step back and had positive spells with teams like the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Rose was supposed to be one of the biggest stars in the history of the game. He could have, should have and perhaps would have, won multiple rings without the injuries.

Yet, his legacy in basketball is secure. He will be more fondly remembered than many who had more rings, points, assists, rebounds, steals or blocks. Because at the end of the day, memories do not have a stat line. And Derrick Rose gave us plenty of those.

Rose's story could have so easily been a tragedy. That of Icarus, who perished by flying too close to the Sun. Instead, he proved to be a Phoenix, rising from his own ashes. Maybe that's what should be his legacy in basketball.

Thank you for the memories, Derrick. Thank you for everything.