Update: 6/17, 3:53 PM
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, the New York Knicks have been having “internal discussions” about trading for the former MVP.
Update: 6/14, 7:32 PM
Joakim Noah has shown disinterest in the organization, Pau Gasol hits free agency this summer, and now the Chicago Bulls are reportedly putting Derrick Rose on the trade block. Sources at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy informed Steve Kyler from Basketball Insiders that “the Bulls are actively open to moving guard Rose, and that seems to be the first choice rather than shopping [Jimmy] Butler.”
Along with the ever-present injury concerns, Rose has a very healthy contract for this upcoming season and is one of the highest-paid players with a salary of $21.3 million. As Kyler pointed out, a team could shop rose if they miss out on someone like Mike Conley or Brandon Jennings in the offseason. Kyler also noted that Chicago has Demetrius Jackson from Notre Dame, Wade Baldwin from Vanderbilt, and Kris Dunn from Providence on their draft radar. They select 14th, giving them a significant chance of landing either Baldwin or Jackson. Dunn is arguably the best point guard in this year’s class, and it would be a shock to see him slip out of the first six or seven picks.
Getting back to his injury woes, it’s become almost a worldwide fact that Derrick Rose’s career has almost been derailed by injuries. Knees, ankles, eyes, he’s missed so much time over the past four years that he’s nowhere close to the MVP that we saw, and were hoping to see for a long time.
However, that’s okay. Rose played decent this year in his 66 appearances, the most since he played in 81 in 2010-11. He averaged about 32 minutes per game, 16.4 points, 4.7 assists, and even showed flashes of his old self at points.
Having taken a clear step back from 2014-15, Chicago might enter the rebuilding stage prematurely if their core starts falling apart.
