Chicago Bulls fans should be extremely excited right now, because their one-time MVP has chosen Chicago over Team USA. Derrick Rose had a coming out party yet again during the playoffs last year, but this time things are different. We’ve seen this movie before, where Rose shows spurts of MVP-caliber talent, but then falls off the face of the earth because he’s trying to do too many things on the court. Not this time. This change in maturity will bring Rose, and most importantly Chicago, back to championship contention in the NBA.

Let’s be real, the Chicago Bulls were only going to go so far without Derrick Rose at his best. The talents of Jimmy Butler and Joakim Naoh did a tremendous job keeping them relevant these last several years, but only a Rose can truly get Chicago over the hump right now. Much of that was due to former coach Tom Thibodeau‘s demeanor as well, which Chicago fans should still be more than happy with, but this is a new age for the Bulls. They have a new identity in head coach Fred Hoiberg, and apparently they also have a new Derrick Rose now too, or what I call a Derrick Rose 2.0.

This is so much more than Rose just deciding to skip out on competing with team USA this time around, but rather about him focusing on what he needs to do in order to take his Bulls to the next step. And that next step, in case anybody is wondering, is a championship. With a new identity in Hoiberg, as well as a Rose 2.0, this might be the time the Bulls ascend into the history books.

Granted, the team as a whole needs to figure a few things out first, as well as gel with their new team leader, but other than that, they should be good to go. There has been a lot of talk and speculation about the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference next year. Cleveland because their Big-3 is staying together and is now fully healthy; and Milwaukee because they not only retained everyone from last year, but also made a big free-agent signing in Greg Monroe.

I don’t blame people for talking about those teams as perennial powerhouses, but the team you should be really paying attention to right now in the East is the Chicago Bulls. After all, they have the right coach, they have the right players, and now they have a Rose 2.0. Chicago has always had enough skill, but it’s the little head games that make a franchise into a great one. Rose chose Chicago over team USA, and basketball fans everywhere should be extremely pleased with that scenario.

Samuel Martell is Oklahoma City’s beat writer at www.RantSports.com. To stay connected, ‘follow’ him on Twitter, ‘like’ him on Facebook, or ‘add’ him to your network on Google.