On the same day LeBron James rode through a throng of a million Ohioans following a fulfillment of a championship promise in Cleveland, Chicago’s native son was sent away, unable to deliver on what his talent said he could.

Derrick Rose lit up many a Chicago night with scintillating drives, dizzying twists and turns, leading observers to wonder about the wonders the human body could produce.

He also hit the ground—hard—taking awkward steps and debilitating falls, leaving observers to wonder how much the human body could take.

With every primal yell to the crowd after a spectacular drive, fans wondered what was the limit, how many championships could be competed for and won? With every yell or wail following a bad fall, fans wondered, “what if?”

It’s not easy to evaluate Rose objectively, or even emotionally, no matter what side of the fence you sit on.

Rose brought Chicago to its feet and to its knees, all at the same time. He exits Chicago, amid rumors that don’t seem founded but exists nonetheless, to a city that isn’t his. But in New York he won’t be haunted by the ghosts of Derrick Rose past.

He won’t have the muscle memory of being an MVP in a New York Knicks uniform, thus the responsibility of having to live up to being that player 82 nights a year won’t wear on him.

Whatever his new reality will be, Rose will be able to create it on a blank canvas and what’s more, won’t feel the pressure of leading his hometown to glory—something James achieved for Cleveland, but Rose’s body betrayed him before getting enough cracks at it.

It’s easy to forget, but Rose was the first one to give the “You’re the real MVP” speech of sorts to his mother when accepting the award of Most Valuable Player in 2011, a nearly-tearful 22-year old breaking the façade of not showing emotion or vulnerability—the latter of which only displayed when talking about the love of his hometown, moments when he was truly overwhelmed with the violence he escaped in Inglewood, moments when he realized how lucky he was.

“I can’t explain this, I went through so much. We ain’t supposed to be here…at all,” a tearful Rose said at a shoe release event in 2012.“This is truly unreal.”

The game can be unforgiving in its own way, though, and even the love from one’s hometown can be conditional.

Rose took the Bulls to the precipice of the true elite, and the only time his body and supporting cast were close to being aligned was 2011, the year after James left Cleveland for Miami to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to win “not five, not six, not seven” championships.

Rose won MVP but James was in his way in late May, sending the Bulls home smarting, but hopeful for more battles that never truly came.

Many will remember Rose not returning in the 2012-13 season, after he was apparently cleared to play following blowing out his knee in the 2012 playoffs—the start of this downward turn.

They felt Rose turned his back on the franchise and by proxy the city, when it merely appeared the player was spooked by the possibility of a re-injury—and when he did return, he hurt himself 10 games into the next season.

What’s often forgotten is Rose frantically working himself back to play in the 2014-15 season, after meniscus surgery that could have put him out for the year. But sensing the Bulls had a legitimate chance at a title, he threw caution to the side to attack his rehab, then shot a laser off the glass on a Friday night in May—against James, no less—and sent Chicago into outright delirium for 48 hours, re-igniting champagne dreams that many thought had been dashed by a broken body.

It was James who sent the Bulls spiraling back to reality, coolly sinking a jumper in front of the Bulls’ bench on a Sunday afternoon, and it was at that moment the fortunes of the franchise began to fully turn into the direction that the Bulls are docked into today.

He could have become the face of resilience in the wake of the truly unfortunate things he had to overcome, and usually, one who speaks fewer words is given the benefit of the doubt.

But he often stumbled in those moments, instances that have become soundbites and punch lines, fodder for those looking to back up the notion that Rose isn’t the player he used to be, and also that he wasn’t worthy of the adulation he received from the fans who would never abandon him.

Rose playing and fighting through a freak orbital bone injury could have been perceived as resilience, as playing basketball at its highest level with one eye isn’t the easiest thing, but considering Rose openly talked about looking forward to free agency the day before on media day, some decided to paint it as some type of karmic payback, as if Rose deserved his wrong-place-at-wrong-time fate.

He showed flashes, but could never recapture the form that brought so many people so much hope and unfortunately, so many unfulfilled expectations.

Time will be kinder to Derrick Rose following his tenure in Chicago, but in this moment, the prevailing feeling is one of incompletion, especially while watching James celebrate the completion of his stated mission.

And it doesn’t have to be anyone’s fault.