Rose is rookie of year

Derrick Rose, who led his hometown Chicago Bulls to the playoffs and restored hope to a franchise in disarray, was the runaway pick as the NBA’s rookie of the year.

Rose became the third Bulls player to win the award Wednesday, joining Michael Jordan and Elton Brand. He received 111 first-place votes and 574 points from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters; runner-up O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies received five first-place votes and 127 points.

Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets finished third, followed by Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Eric Gordon (Clippers) and Kevin Love (Minnesota).

Rose, the No. 1 overall draft pick, led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game and was second in scoring average at 16.8. He helped the Bulls to the playoffs a year after Chicago went 33-49.

Saunders gets job

Flip Saunders will be formally introduced as the new coach of the Washington Wizards today. The Wizards confirmed that Saunders signed his contract late Tuesday.