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Knicks Rumors: Derrick Rose Expected to Impact NY's Free-Agency Plans at PG
May 28, 2021
Rival NBA teams reportedly believe Derrick Rose's high level of play could result in the New York Knicks not pursuing a costly point guard in free agency.
SNY's Ian Begley reported the rumor Friday on Twitter:
Rose is coming off a huge performance in the Knicks' Game 2 win over the Atlanta Hawks in their first-round playoff series, as he scored a team-high 26 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds in 39 minutes off the bench.
As expected, Rose has been an excellent fit in New York playing under head coach Tom Thibodeau. Rose's best NBA seasons, including his MVP campaign in 2010-11, came with Thibs as his head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
After the Knicks acquired Rose from the Detroit Pistons, he averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds over 26.8 minutes per game in 35 contests.
Rose has maintained and even elevated that level of play through New York's first two playoff games, which may be enough to convince the Knicks front office to re-sign him before or during free agency this offseason.
There are some red flags when it comes to Rose, including the fact that he is 32 years old and has a lengthy injury history, but there is no question that he and Thibodeau are a winning combination.
While Rose is efficient with the playing time he does receive, he hasn't averaged over 30 minutes per game since the 2016-17 season and has started only 38 of the 176 games he has appeared in over the past four seasons.
That means the Knicks will likely need a second point guard to split the bulk of the minutes with Rose, although that player may already be on the roster.
It can be argued that Immanuel Quickley is more of a combo guard than a pure point, but he did some great things as a rookie this season and averaged 11.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in just 19.4 minutes per game.
If the Knicks decide they need a more traditional point guard to either pair with or replace Rose, there are some intriguing options that could be available to them in free agency.
Among the point guards who may hit free agency this offseason are Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Dennis Schroder and Lonzo Ball.
All of them could be fairly expensive, especially Lowry and Conley, but the Knicks have a need at point guard regardless of what they do with Rose, and any of them could potentially be a great fit in the Big Apple.