Getty Derrick Rose could be drawing interest from the Sacramento Kings.
The New York Knicks have reportedly placed Derrick Rose on the trade block according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“The Knicks have shown a willingness to discuss Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley in trade talks, league sources say, as a way to sort out the team’s glut at the guard position over the course of the season,” he wrote.
Quickley is a bit of an eye-opener considering the big minutes he plays with the team, but Rose makes more sense. After missing a good chunk of last season, it seems like the Knicks have adjusted to life without him, and with Jalen Brunson now in town, the former MVP has become expendable.
He’s averaging 13.2 minutes per game on the season which would be a career low if it keeps up over the duration of the year. While his time with the Knicks might be coming to an end, there’s still a lot Rose can provide to a team.
An Eastern Conference executive speaking to Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney says a “surprise” team could show up in trade talks and names the Sacramento Kings as a possibility.
Rose to the Kings?
The Sacramento Kings are on a roll at the moment as they currently sit at 10-6 on the season after a seven game win streak.
If that keeps up, they could find themselves adding more pieces by the trade deadline, and the Knicks could have some assets of interest.
Rose would work best in a sixth man role wherever he goes, and that would work great with the Kings. Sacramento has their starter in place with De’Aaron Fox, so Rose could slot in as his backup. While there’s nothing concrete in terms of talks, the executive tells Deveney the Kings could be a team to watch.
“And there will be surprise buyers at the trade deadline, maybe a team like Sacramento, a team that could use a veteran off the bench,” the exec said.
Teams get off to hot starts and fizzle out all the time, so it might be too early to talk about adding pieces, but the Kings are an exciting story so far.
If the Knicks find a way to get something back for Rose, they should certainly take it if they’re not playing him a whole lot, and that could mean a deal with the Kings is in order.
Will the Knicks Make a Move?
With Rose having appeared in 17 games this season, his role seems to be what it is with the Knicks, and if he’s okay with that, then maybe they’ll decide to hang onto him.
A 34-year-old point guard doesn’t have a ton of value in the NBA, but Rose can still provide leadership and be a mentor to a young team, like the Kings and Knicks, so he does hold value in that regard.
While the Knicks haven’t played him a whole lot to show this being the case, Rose likely has something left in the tank that he can provide to a championship team, so maybe teams will come calling about him. The same executive said the Lakers have shown interest in bringing him on, but they might be considered a championship contender at the moment.
“The Lakers have always had interest but there is no way to make that deal work now with the contracts they have,” the exec told Deveney.