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I suppose it was inevitable. The Knicks are painfully close to a deal to acquire Derrick Rose, per Shams and James Edwards.
The Detroit Pistons are nearing agreement on deal to send Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks for Dennis Smith Jr. and draft compensation, sources tell me and @JLEdwardsIII.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 7, 2021
We’ve heard rumblings that the Knicks were interested in acquiring Rose ever since Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach last summer. Thibs and Rose go back a long way, from their salad days with the Chicago Bulls to their reunion with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
You may recall Rose from his one-year stint with the 2016-17 Knicks. He set the early tone by calling the Knicks a super-team on par with the Warriors, provided a few disturbing quotes during his rape trial in the preseason, disappeared for one game without informing informing the club (which just so happened to happen one game after head coach Jeff Hornacek benched him in the fourth quarter), and played on one of the most depressing collection of over-the-hill mediocrities in recent Knicks history (which is saying something).
Rose has since turned around his career somewhat, though he’s been bad this year, especially finishing at the rim, where he is shooting 46%. He’s shooting 33.3% from three, which is better than Elfrid Payton.
Long story short, this was a dumb move, even if the Knicks only gave up Dennis Smith Jr. Payton remains, and is still a Thibs favorite. How will this affect Immanuel Quickley? It might already be happening, if you believe Steve Jones’ observations from the first half of Sunday’s game.
First time it feels like Quickley is playing like a guy trying to *stay* on the floor rather than just doing the things that got him there in the first place. That's *not good*
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) February 7, 2021
We’ll have more analysis as this story develops.