The New York Knicks are a mess, and Derrick Rose‘s future with the team is the least of their concerns.
From top to bottom, no one has any idea what the Knicks are doing. Phil Jackson is hell-bent on running an offense that hasn’t yet worked with this team while simultaneously figuring out what to do with Carmelo Anthony. On top of that, the pick eighth in the upcoming NBA Draft. Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina might be the point guard of the future, and that means the team would likely let Derrick Rose walk.
However, it won’t be that easy. Rose’s agent, B.J. Armstrong, told Bleacher Report that his client “loves New York and wants to be there.” This summer, the former MVP hits free agency and taking a lesser salary to stay in New York is a possibility. “We’ve expressed that to them and been very consistent about it. Whether it happens is on them; all we can do is be clear.”
Also Read: Did Rose Rob LeBron James of the 2011 NBA MVP?
Rose was paid a bit more than $21.3 million last year, and the Knicks inherited that when they traded for him from the Chicago Bulls.
We know about the injury history, but Armstrong isn’t worried about that. Rose had surgery on his left meniscus in April and is now healthy and back to working out. Even after suffering the injury, the 28-year-old played his best basketball since 2012 when he averaged 21.8 points and 7.9 assists — he played in just 39 games that year.
In 64 contests with the Knicks, Rose put up 18.0 points on 47.1 percent from the floor. He was oddly efficient despite not being his old self. The explosion isn’t there like it used to be, but Rose is still blinding quick from time-to-time and still has the acrobatics that won him the MVP back in 2011. Unfortunately, he’s been the scapegoat for a lot of the Knicks’ problems. That’s not to say he’s perfect, but the team as a collective isn’t good. There were rumors of a potential Ricky Rubio package around the trade deadline, but that never happened.
A lot of Rose’s issues are rooted in defense, and that’s a big reason why fans wanted the team to trade for Rubio. The fact of the matter is that the Knicks were one of the five worst teams on that end of the court. Laughable help defense would’ve made Gary Payton look bad.
Also Read: Never Forget When Rose Called The Knicks a Superteam
Another reason Rose gets picked on is his lack of an outside shot. In today’s game, it’s detrimental for a point guard not to have it. He nailed just 21.7 percent of his triples. Rose, however, has never been a threat from the perimeter and he’s never been a voluminous three-point shooter; he knows his game, and he sticks to it.
The only way Rose has a grand impact on the Knicks’ success is if he’s the number one guy. That’s not going to happen. Whether he stays or not, New York will have to make multiple moves to return to relevance.
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