Derrick Rose didn't expect to be coming back to Memphis.

The veteran guard, who played at the University of Memphis, signed with the Grizzlies on July 3 as a free agent after spending the previous two seasons with the New York Knicks.

The hope is that he can help mentor star Ja Morant, who is serving a 25-game suspension, and Rose wants to help the Grizzlies on the court.

Rose said Monday at media day that he had contacted former Grizzlies guard Tony Allen to connect with Morant, and it went from here.

"It started with me reaching out to Tony Allen to get Ja's number or to get Ja's dad's number and me chopping it up and having a casual conversation with them," Rose said. "Ever since I left here, I never thought about it. But this summer, it just made sense."

The No. 1 pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and the 2011 NBA MVP made clear his intentions.

"I'm not here to babysit, I'm not here to follow you around, I'm not here to cheerlead," Rose said. "I'm here to push you. In the league, there are very few opportunities where players get a chance to play with somebody that has a similar style of play. I'm very fortunate to be in a situation where a lot of people look at his game and they kind of compare our games together. But he's on a whole other level."

Rose said he still wants to contribute on the court and not just be a locker room presence. He said he has had to change his approach the past couple of years as he has battled injuries and seen his role diminish.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't able to adapt or adapt on time," he said. "I wouldn't be here if I would've come back too soon from my injuries. I wouldn't be here if I didn't understand what I'm capable of and what I can deal with. It's just a blessing."

Rose touched on some controversial moments in his career, including his year in college. He has had a complicated relationship with Memphis since his one season with the Tigers, helping them reach the NCAA national championship in 2008.

More: Memphis Grizzlies' Taylor Jenkins updates Ja Morant's availability during suspension

"It was a blur," he said of his time with the Tigers. "I remember leaving. I remember being very, very sad about leaving because I was only here for six months."

That team ultimately had its wins stripped because the NCAA decided to retroactively declare Rose ineligible over concerns about whether he actually took the SAT. Then there was off-court controversy, most notably a 2015 rape accusation and subsequent civil suit in which he was found not liable.

There also was a photo of Rose flashing a gang sign that came out when he was with the Chicago Bulls in 2009 but was taken when he was with the Tigers. He said at the time it was "a joke . . . a bad one, I now admit."

"It was just a feel," he said of deciding to play for the Memphis Tigers. "At that time, I felt like the team was only missing a point guard and that's what made me go there. And thank God it worked out. And just like in New York in a way. When I first went to New York (in 2016), I wasn't ready and they saw me as a kid. And I was able to mend that relationship that I had with New York with me leaving, with me going through the rape case, all that.

"People don't look at that no more. Trying to do the same thing here. Coming here, right after I got drafted it was the gang sign and right after that it was the ACT. Now you're seeing a different Derrick where I'm 34, I have three kids and I'm married. So if anything, you see growth. And that's one of the reasons why I wanted to come back."

Rose said he has had to change and adapt his expectations of how people in the league view him. He has dealt with a significant number of injuries in his career, many of them knee injuries, including a torn ACL in 2012, and might have to accept that he's going to get only minimum contracts for the rest of his career.

He referred to a conversation he had with his son, who is deciding if he wants to pursue basketball or baseball.

"I had to give him this advice the other day — like, man, you have to get through all the three stages," Rose said. "He's like, 'What's the three stages?' The good, the bad, the ugly. If you can get through all those three stages and still have a passion or a love of whatever you're in, you're on the right track. And that's all I want for him. Me telling him that, now looking back at it in hindsight, I was really having that conversation with myself because I'm in the same position as him, where I've got through all the three stages and now it's all about adapting."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Derrick Rose said about his return to Memphis with Grizzlies