Last season, Derrick Rose signed with the Detroit Pistons to a two-year $15 million deal. The former MVP hasn’t appeared in a game for the Pistons since January 30th, sitting three consecutive games. Since then, Rose and the Pistons have agreed a trade would be best for both sides, as first reported by The Athletic.
Multiple teams were reported to be interested in a trade for the 12-year veteran point guard. The team leading all the rumors is the New York Knicks, and a reunion with his former coach Tom Thibodeau. Sunday, the Knicks made the deal official by sending Dennis Smith Jr., and a 2021 second-firoudn pick for Rose.
This season
Derrick Rose has averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.9 assists in 22.8 minutes a game this season for the Pistons. More important than that, Rose has taken Detroit’s rookie guard Killian Hayes under his wing and helped him adjust to NBA life. Going into the season, Rose said this of his relationship with the rookie guard “My job here is to push him and groom him to be a great player.”
Certainly, the New York Knicks could benefit from the veteran guard’s presence and hope he has a similar bond with their rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley.
The Knicks, who rank in the top ten on defense this season, could use a scoring point guard and an upgrade offensively in general. Currently, the Knicks have the sixth-worst offensive rating in the NBA. One factor to that is the play of Elfrid Payton and his inconsistency.
Immanuel Quickey has made strides and honestly outplayed Payton, making a case for him to be the starting point guard. A Knicks/Rose reunion might halt that decision, but the former MVP may also help in Quickley’s development.
Adding Rose gives flexibility in Thibodeau’s prospective lineup as well as an upgrade to Payton. So far this season, Derrick Rose has been coming off the Pistons bench and could continue to be a leader for the Knicks second unit.
Whether that means Quickley gets his earned promotion to the starting lineup or they find other lineup solutions is yet to be seen. The addition of Derrick Rose creates an overlap with veteran guards Elfrid Payton and Austin Rivers, as well as the previously mentioned rookie. One of the four is going to see decreased minutes, and trading for Rose and not giving him minutes doesn’t really make sense to me.
Payton, while playing better recently, has been frustrating in his starting role. He has glaring weaknesses offensively and is experiencing his worst shooting season of his career. Rivers already had his minutes cut to a season-low eight minutes Saturday against the Trail Blazers. Both veterans could be in demand for contending teams as the trade deadline approaches.
It didn’t take long after trade rumors started for fans to worry what this means for their rookie guard, and how can you blame them with what this franchise has put them through. But an understated reason for the move could be for Rose to do what he was doing in Detroit and mentoring their young players. The former MVP could help elevate players like Immanuel Quickley rather than hindering their development.
It’s no question Rose takes pressure off the team offensively, which was a major point of concern for both their first and second units. Quickley in his first season is 12.4 points per game on 41% shooting. The rookie and Rose could be on the floor for extended minutes together, and that is a major improvement from how things have been. Thibodeau now has flexibility in how he spaces his time and can layer the times and finally optimize his lineups.
The Knicks currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, and the move to acquire Rose suggests a playoff push in New York. When was the last time you felt that in New York? Coach Thibodeau is now reunited with one of the players he trusts most and has time to find his strongest lineups and how this team wants to play. Adding Rose won’t do anything to hurt their strong defensive play and only looks to lift them to a level offensively (or at the least relieve some of the scoring burdens) that the New York Knicks haven’t seen all season. While it may take time to divide the minutes, and Quickley’s minutes may suffer slightly, in the long run, I see Rose being a needed mentor and benefitting the entire team.
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