Chicago Trades ’11 MVP Derrick Rose (This is not a Drill)
23 Jun, 2016
The New York Knicks acquired Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, hoping the former NBA MVP can be their answer at point guard.
The Knicks sent center Robin Lopez and guards Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant to the Bulls in the deal. New York also received guard Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round pick, and waived point guard Tony Wroten.
New coach Jeff Hornacek said recently the Knicks needed a point guard and Rose was one of the NBA’s best before multiple knee injuries slowed the former No. 1 pick’s career. He played in 66 games last season, his most in five years, and averaged 16.4 points.
“This is an exciting day for New York and our fans,” Hornacek said in a statement. “Derrick is one of the top point guards in the NBA who is playoff battle-tested. He adds a whole new dynamic to our roster and immediately elevates our backcourt.”
After missing the playoffs in a disappointing first season under Fred Hoiberg, the Bulls decided to move on without the hometown kid they selected with the top pick in the 2008 draft.
It seemed a perfect fit when Rose led Chicago to the top of the Eastern Conference in the 2010-11 regular season, earning MVP honors and leading the franchise to success it hadn’t enjoyed since Michael Jordan.
But he wrecked his knee for the first time in the playoffs the following year and no longer has the speed that once made him one of the league’s most dazzling young stars and a seemingly perennial All-Star.
“Knowing Derrick as I do makes this trade a hard one,” Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. “Everyone knows him as the local kid who became MVP for his hometown team, but not everyone got to know him like I did. While he is a terrific basketball player, he is an even better person with a tremendous heart.”
Rose hasn’t been back to the All-Star Game since 2012 and has often had trouble just playing in the real games. He sat out all of the 2012-13 season, made it back for 10 games in 2013-14 and appeared in a little more than half the Bulls’ games in 2014-15.
Still, he could be worth the risk for a Knicks team that has struggled to generate offense.
The veteran Calderon and Grant, a first-round pick last year, were on the roster of a team that started well but faltered badly in the second half on the way to a 32-50 season. Rose is expected to be an upgrade as the team transitions from the triangle offense to a quicker attack under Hornacek.
Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis will benefit if Rose can do it, though they could miss Lopez in a frontcourt that was the team’s strength last season.
Lopez averaged 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while starting every game in his only season in New York after leaving Portland for the Knicks last summer.
Rose has averaged 19.7 points and 6.2 assists in 406 career games.
AP
Image Knicks twitter
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