By any standard, the best eight or nine players in the NBA are severely underpaid. You can either look at what they bring to their teams in terms of on-floor production, or at how they fill arenas and move merchandise and come to the same conclusion that the maximum salary structure compromises their earning potential even if it creates a better system for the good of the game.

Derrick Rose joined the maximum contract club with a contract extension for nearly $100 million.

The only question is whether Rose is legitimately one of the ten best players in the NBA. After a third-year in which he took a tremendous step forward as a perimeter shooter and decision-maker on his way to the MVP, the answer is a resounding yes. Rose is another two or three years away from reaching his peak and the manner in which he gives a maximum effort every single night is exactly what any team would love from their franchise player.

There are as many high quality point guards as any other position, but Rose is a cut above all others whether its because of long-term health (Chris Paul, Deron Williams) or perimeter shooting (Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo).

Rose has proven himself incredibly capable of carrying Chicago’s offense and his points per possession rate will surely increase with another uptick in his perimeter shooting and even more creativity as a passer.

The big win for the Bulls is that Rose didn’t insist on a player option that became vogue in 2006 with the extensions signed by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Similar to LeBron, Rose is playing for his hometown team, but his wiring is different and the short-term and long-term outlook for the Bulls is much better right now than it was for the Cavaliers back in 2006. 

Cleveland reached The Finals in the following season, but that was almost entirely based on LeBron willing a flawed team past the Pistons with the best playoff performances of his career. 

Grade for Bulls: A

As expected, Rose gets the security of a long-term, but he also gets a bonus of as much as $11 million over the life of the contract thanks to the rule that is his namesake.

The PR of not requesting the player option from the Bulls is nice and he probably has nothing to worry about, but punting on the leverage of being able to opt out is far from insignificant. The Bulls have an excellent foundation and a capable front office, but they also have an owner that spent like a small market team even under the previous CBA. Now that the new CBA has more punitive penalties, it is difficult to imagine the Bulls ever being anywhere near the Lakers or Knicks in terms of payroll.

Like those franchises, the Bulls are able to essentially print money and if they are skimping here or there, it will be Rose’s legacy that is impacted.

Grade for Rose: B+