Many New York Knicks fans – including me – are rejoicing today.
After all, my beloved Knicks just traded for Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose for just Jerian Grant, Robin Lopez and Jose Calderon. The Bulls sent a 2017 2nd round draft pick and some other dude in return.
Now on the surface, it looked like New York got the better of the deal.
In Rose, the Knicks got the star player it needed to go along with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. We have been point guard-starved since the Mark Jackson/Rod Strickland era. Rose will give New York another offense weapon and should take the scoring load off Melo.
We also freed up more than $15 million dollars in the trade. Calderon will get $7.7 million, and Lopez is owed $13.8 million.
So at least on paper, my Knicks got a lot better.
On the other hand, Chicago was able to move on from its native son without losing Rose for nothing.
It was obvious that the Bulls have become Jimmy Butler’s team, and they no longer viewed Rose as a franchise player. After all, Rose has had durability issues since the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
Add to that the fact that Rose is owed $21.3 million in the final year of his contract. The Bulls’ brass clearly didn’t think that an injury-prone 28-year-old dude is worth that much money.
And sure, the injury risk is still there for Rose and the Knicks. His stats have been declining since that injury in the 2012 NBA Playoffs vs. the 76ers.
Plus, who knows if Rose will be able to jell with Melo and Porzingis?
That said, Rose still averaged 16.4 points per game last season, to go along with 4.7 assists. Plus, the Knicks have been missing a PG who is a threat driving to the basket. That would be a HUGE help for Melo in particular.
Bottom line: both teams got what they wanted in the end. New York got the star it craved with hopes of ascending back to relevancy in the Eastern Conference. Chicago simply got the chance to move on.
The ultimate “win-win”…
Categories: NBA, sports story
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