Rumor: The Knicks are interested in Derrick Rose

Am I a throwaway line in a gossip column somewhere? I wonder. I know I’m not specifically mentioned in anything. I just wonder if somehow, somewhere, someone tossed some pithy line about a guy who happened to be me. Maybe they called me a bystander that saw something, or a weird onlooker who wouldn’t respond to our questioning.

Today the Knicks were weirdly looking over at a situation, not saying anything, and then Sham Charania threw them into his gossip column.

Not the headliners, you gotta dig in just a little bit, but it’s there.

Oh is that so? It seems like an agent trying to get his client out of town before the wheels fall off but it’s interesting to see the Knicks linked to a player who could actually improve the team. They were linked to Lonzo Ball recently but let’s leave that hot gossip elsewhere for now.

Rose would be an instant and gigantic upgrade over Elfrid Payton, but it’s hard to see the Pistons interested in taking on a tore back point guard, who is not an especially good scorer, defender or passer just to appease Rose’s wishes. Theoretically Rose is trying to angle his way to a team that would offer him another contract (New York) and possibly even to play for a team that has a chance to win (Clippers).

So if the Pistons, in all likelihood, are not interested in Payton, the conversation pretty quickly turns to Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr and some variety of the Knicks’ upcoming or future draft picks. Detroit already has two French players on the team, in Killian Hayes and Sekou Doumbouya. So maybe they see something in joining them together in La Ville des Moteurs. Dennis Smith is valueless at this point but I’m sure the Knicks would prefer to keep Ntilikina over Smith if there’s a choice.

The Clippers might actually have incentive to make a play for Rose though. If they are gunning for a championship, they are in a perpetual arms race. Maybe they can send Reggie Jackson back to the Pistons. Or maybe Detroit can actually pry Lou Williams off of them. For a team desperate to fill their shooting void why on earth would you call the Knicks!?

The potential reunion of Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau will certainly have legs, even if Derrick doesn’t. Being beholden to the Kentucky Wildcats, Creative Artists Agency and Tom Thibodeau’s old flames is tired. The Knicks are involved in this to grease the gears on the trade market and force someone else to put their chips in too early so they can in turn swoop on an unhappy All Star with their cap space and some salary filler is wired.

If Rose comes to town, it’s a sign the Knicks are trying to win just a few more games, and I admire it. If Rose comes to town, it’s also a sign that his obnoxious stans will be back and they’re reading this now, and they’re mad as hell. Get a life, guys that are definitely dudes.

All I know is Rose is clearly better than Elfrid and he also seems to have embraced the role of a veteran leader. He’s a blockhead, but the Knicks have done way dumber and more annoying things. Whatever comes to pass, the gossiping gossamers are officially inside the whisper house.