Just after Derrick Rose was traded in late June to the New York Knicks, closing the book on an eight-year run in Chicago for the hometown kid and former MVP, his product managers at adidas began to create updated versions of his new adidas D Rose 7 in orange and blue hues.

The trade wasn’t exactly a surprise. The Bulls were looking to move on from the oft-injured Rose, who’s missed 304 games in his career and has just one year remaining on the max contract extension he signed in 2011. For adidas, who signed Rose to a 13-year extension in 2012, New York was the best possible scenario from the brand’s perspective.

The D Rose 7 is just now hitting stores and features the most technology in his series to date. There’s a full-length Boost foam-cushioning platform, a computer-crafted Primeknit woven upper, and, of course, a contoured collar to provide Rose with ample ankle support. The Boost cushioning, which has a bit of a styrofoam look, was first incorporated into parts of the heel and forefoot of both the D Rose 5 and 6 shoes. Ever since first playing in it, he’s been adamant about using the technology going forward. “His first reaction was, ‘I don’t know what Boost is, but I want it in all my shoes going forward,'” said Chris Rivers, adidas Basketball’s senior player relations manager and Rose’s longtime brand liaison.

In addition to the tech throughout, the shoe also features design elements that still draft from Chicago’s local history. “The inspiration was based on the Great Chicago Fire, and how the city had to rebuild itself and come from the ashes,” Rivers said.

The two-pronged collar pieces on each side of the shoe help to provide ankle support, but take their shape from the flowing flames and smoke of the late-19th century fire that burned through the heart of Chicago, leaving a third of the city’s population homeless and requiring years of rebuilding. Now it’s Rose’s chance to rebuild his career.

View photos Rose holds up his new D Rose 7 shoe. (Nick DePaula) More

The D Rose 7 represents a new chapter in his career and journey with adidas. “They sent me a sample shoe, and they were just showing me the Primeknit [material] on it,” Rose said. “This was before the trade. The shoe was all white, with orange in it. I’m like, ‘Man, why’d they send me a shoe with orange in it?’ I didn’t get it. All of a sudden, I got traded to the Knicks, and I’m like, ‘Was that a sign?'”

As excited as Rose, 27, is about a fresh start, being traded is never easy.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was kind of hurt at first, of course, coming from my hometown and moving, period,” Rose said. “Being away from my kids and away my family, that’s going to get to you, no matter who you are. You’re going to be emotional about it.”

Though he looks back at his time in Chicago fondly, Rose is eager to tackle the grand expectations in New York. “I’m going to a great market, and to a city where they love basketball and basketball is a culture there,” Rose said. “They just love players that play hard, and I think that I fit that personality. I’m a person that’s going to play hard and give the game everything that he’s got.”

To this point, that approach has helped Rose create one of the sport’s biggest signature businesses. Rose’s early success with his first two adidas shoes from 2010-2012 could be credited to their retail price of $110 and his MVP-level play as one of the few point guards in the league with a signature shoe. He also earned a legion of fans at the time for his humble hometown story in the wake of criticism of LeBron James for “The Decision.”

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