Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

 Or in the case of Toronto Raptors veteran Jalen Rose, the sheer thought of his absence from the team?s lineup could make an entire organization and fan base cringe, especially in the midst of a last-gasp playoff push.  

 Ironic, considering the 11-year veteran and University of Michigan product is likely one of the NBA?s most maligned and underappreciated players.

 Rose?s legacy - other than the fact he was one-fifth of arguably the most talked-about, trend-setting college basketball teams in NCAA history - may be the rather lucrative contract he signed with the Indiana Pacers back in the summer of 2000 after a stellar playoff performance ? a seven-year, $93-million deal that has come to define who he is as a player.  Since re-upping with the Pacers in 2000, Rose has been traded twice and is now regarded as a player with an albatross of a contract.  Some critics have gone as far as to label him a team ?cancer.?

 In a recent ESPN ?survey? if you will, Rose was listed as one of the league?s top ten ?counterfeit money players,? players who were anything but a solid bang for the buck.  Making in excess of $14 million this season, Rose was No. 9 on this ever so dubious list, grouped together with the likes of Dikembe Mutombo, Tim Thomas and Brian Grant.  

 Other than sophomore phenom LeBron James, who is in the second year of his four-year, $19 million rookie contract, and a select few others, who in the NBA is ever worth the contract they sign for?  Exactly.

 Is Rose considered an upper-echelon NBA superstar?  No, he isn?t.  Does he have the right to go Rodney Dangerfield and command a little respect?

 Most certainly.

 While there are aspects to Rose?s game that can leave fans and the teams he?s played for scratching their collective heads ? namely his less than stellar play on the defensive end, constant bickering with officials (does anyone complain more to the refs during the course of a game than ?The Rose??) and at times suspect decision-making ? the Raptors, a team not without their fair share of dysfunction, remain remotely alive in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt primarily because of their highest-paid player?s renaissance.

 Rose is coming off NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging 24.0 points and .553% shooting from the field in leading Toronto to a 3-0 record, including a 108-102 win at home Sunday versus the Los Angeles Lakers ? a game in which Rose surpassed his estranged biological father, Jimmy Walker, on the all-time scoring list.  

 Clutch has been Rose?s mantra for much of the season, as he has time and again been Toronto?s late-game hero despite having to deal with a multitude of trade rumors prior to the Feb. 24 deadline as well as a demotion to the bench earlier in the year.

 In fact, ironically enough (Rose was quite vocal over his demotion at the time), it was head coach Sam Mitchell?s decision to bench Rose for sixteen games that may have ultimately turned Rose's and the team?s season around.    

 Searching for a spark, Mitchell relegated Rose to the second unit back on Dec. 22 and replaced him in the starting lineup with Eric Williams, who was acquired in the Vince Carter trade a week earlier and has proven to be a bigger malcontent than Carter ever was during his Toronto tenure ? at least publicly.

 But while Rose griped and griped some more, insisting a player of his stature had no place on the bench, he remained a pro and was actually more productive as a reserve than a starter, averaging 17.9 points as a sixth man as opposed to only 14.8 points as a starter.

 Mitchell rewarded Rose by reinserting him into the starting lineup on Jan. 28 versus Charlotte, and Rose has since taken his game to another level, recording 20 or more points in 10 of his last 13 games, including a 26-point effort in Sunday?s win over the Lakers in which Rose scored 10 of Toronto?s final 12 points.  

 Still don?t think Rose is valuable to the Raptors?

 Teammate Morris Peterson calls Rose ?Mr. Clutch.?  Mitchell, despite the demotion, shows nothing but praise for his team?s leading scorer (17.1 points a night), while Carter felt the need to go out of his way following his departure from Toronto and refer to Rose as one of the best teammates he?s ever played with.

 ?People tag Jalen in so many different ways, and yet, it?s an unfair tag, because people don?t really know what kind of a guy and teammate he really is,? Carter said.  

 ?Jalen is a true vet.  If you tell a rookie when he comes into the league to try to find a vet to learn from, he?s definitely one of those guys.  If I were a guy drafted by Toronto, I?d tell him, ?Hey, get with Jalen Rose and talk to him, learn from him, pick his brain.? He has been in the finals, he has been with great players, he has accomplished so many things, ups and downs.  That?s why I was just happy to have him around.?

 When receiving word that Rose broke his left hand last season after a Feb. 8 game in Golden State, forcing to him to miss 16 games, then-head coach Kevin O?Neill became so infuriated he smashed a lamp in his hotel room, while the Raptors, 25-25 at the time of the injury, proceeded to go 3-13 in Rose?s absence, ending all playoff aspirations.  

 Talk about your huge losses.

 So you could imagine how 19,800 Air Canada Center faithful were held breathless as Rose left Sunday?s game with six seconds remaining after hyper-extending the middle and index fingers on his right hand diving for a loose ball.  Rose returned to action Wednesday in San Antonio without missing a game, much to the delight of the Raptors, who still remain within striking distance of a playoff spot in the East.  Losing Rose for any extended period of time would have once again sealed Toronto?s fate.

 Jalen Rose will always have his critics.  He?s a juicy, sometimes controversial, quote waiting to happen ? never a bad thing for those of us in the media - while detractors will always point to Rose?s third-person diatribes as proof he is nothing more than a selfish prima donna.  

 Except Rose isn?t. And while he may not have a long-term future in Canada after this season - particularly if Raptors GM Rob Babcock could find a way to rid himself of Rose?s, yes, huge contract (three years and $51 million remaining after this season) ? Rose, a Toronto fan favorite, will have at least earned the fans? respect when his time in the Ontario, Canada capital is up.

 It?s a start.

 Kostas.Bolos@realgm.com