2007, Feb. 3: AOL.com Sports Blog - Jalen Rose Has Faith in Himself, His Suns

Feb. 3, 2007 by Bethlehem Shoals -- And now, further proof that the Phoenix Suns are an alternate reality that sets an unfair standard for everyone else. You may or may not remember that Jalen Rose is now under contract there, and rarely, if ever, sees the light of court. The Phoenix front office actually feels kind of bad about this, and as ESPN.com reports, has offered to help: The Suns, according to NBA front-office sources, have offered to help Rose find a new home -- via trade or perhaps even by setting him free to sign elsewhere -- if he came to them with a desire to chase a title somewhere else. Okay, so a player who some feel is a malcontent is being extended a get-out-of-town-free card. That's pretty big of D'Antoni. What's even stranger, though, is Rose's response. "I'm happy here," Rose says. "Mike and my teammates are and have been great -- and I believe we're going to win it all." "I will be a factor here," Rose said. "Trust me." Now, Rose is a smart guy, and certainly gets a couple things about Phoenix. Like what they made of Tim Thomas in last year's postseason. Or how crucial someone like him would have been when Joe Johnson went down in '05. You can tell me that their rotation is deep enough, but this current D'Antoni creation thrives on depth. One injury could suddenly make Jalen relevant. More importantly, this isn't typical athlete-speak. It's hard not to believe Rose, since the Suns are that much more appealing than every other team in the universe. That or he has some heady plans to take out Leandro's ankle in April.