14 players the Phoenix Suns signed past their prime
By Luke Duffy
9. Jalen Rose
The NBA is an amazing place, where players show up on random teams and it is a ton of fun to look back on years later. Jalen Rose on the Suns is one such example of this, with Rose undoubtedly best remembered as one of Michigan’s “Fab Five”, a member of the Indiana Pacers, and also the player who Kobe Bryant torched for 81 points.
In 2006-07 though, as the 61-21 Suns were in the midst of their “seven seconds or less” era, Rose was actually a part of the team for 29 regular season games. At 8.5 minutes per game, it is no surprise that he retired after the year was through, although what most forget is that he actually appeared in the postseason for the organization that season.
In honor of Kobe Bryant’s 81 point game:
— Kobe Highlights & Motivation (@kobehighlight) January 22, 2023
A joke for Jalen Rose. He gets it. 🫒 pic.twitter.com/353P1Z71Qi
Ok… so nine minutes and two points in one single game is not a lot as the Suns bowed out to the Spurs in round two, but it does still count! Given that Rose was 34-years-old and his career was clearly over, you may think that he then shouldn’t qualify for this list. If the inclusion of Ainge is harsh for one reason, then with Rose it goes the other way. He’s barely remembered at all.
But the year before joining the Suns, he suited up for both the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks. Between the two, he started 45-of-72 games, and even managed 12.3 points per game in 27.5 minutes of action. Rose wasn’t signed to be a missing piece for the Suns, but given he’d actually been on the court some the previous season, the fall off from even that was huge.