The Derrick Rose Trade: Business As Usual At the Garden

Do not be fooled by the name: Derrick Rose is no longer a very good NBA player. The 2010-11 MVP is the latest on a long list of former all-stars acquired by the Knicks on the downside of their careers. (Think Antonio McDyess, Penny Hardaway, Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady and Amar’e Stoudemire.) Like the others, Derrick Rose’s name recognition far exceeds his contributions on the court.

Rose played in just 39% of his his team’s games over the past four years and was not very effective when he was on the court. The explosiveness that once made him the Eastern Conference’s answer to Russell Westbrook was sapped by three knee surgeries in three years, the most serious of which was to repair a torn ACL in his left knee in April, 2012.

Rose is a ball-dominant point guard, whose statistics no longer justify him having the ball in his hands.

His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) last season (13.5) ranked 44th among 77 point guards, and the Chicago Bulls were better offensively and defensively when he was on the bench. (Chicago’s opponents scored 108.5 points per 100 possessions with Rose in the game and 104.4 with him off the court, and the Bulls’ offensive rating was 104.6 when he was in the game, compared to 105.2 without him.)

Rose still has a quick first step, which allows him to get into the lane, but he lacks the propulsion to finish around the rim as effectively as he once did, and far too often settles for pull-up jumpers from 12-18 feet. Defenses go can go under screens on him because Rose shot a dismal 28 and 29 percent on three-point attempts over the past two seasons.

Some in the media have suggested that Rose will benefit from a change of scenery and will be highly motivated in the final year of his contract. Rose needed to get out of Chicago, where the expectations of past accomplishments cast a heavy burden, and he reportedly did not get along with the team’s new star player, Jimmy Butler. However, to suggest that he will be more motivated in a contract year is to ignore the hard work he has put in for the past few seasons. His desire to prove his worth in a contract year may prove to be a negative. And neither change of scenery, nor motivation will repair his damaged knees. 

All of that being said, Rose is a significant upgrade for the Knicks, who did not have a starting caliber point-guard on the roster. Calderon, at age 34, is a tremendous liability defensively, and Grant projects to be a backup point guard, at best. Rose can still break down a defense with dribble penetration, which is something the Knicks’ offense desperately needs. His ability to push the ball up the floor should also fit nicely in new coach, Jeff Hornacek’s, fast-paced offense.

Rose is also not much of a risk for the Knicks. The 27-year-old is entering the final year of his contract, which could leave the Knicks with upwards of $60 million to spend in free agency next summer. Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle O’Quinn are the only players on the roster guaranteed money past the 2016-17 season.

However, the Knicks gave up too much for Rose. The Bulls were desperate to move on from the Rose era and build around Butler. They had been trying to trade the point guard for over a year, but there was no market for him. Chicago likely would have ultimately settled for giving him up for free if a team was willing to absorb his contract this season.

Then the Knicks swooped in and gave up two assets for a player who will probably be gone after one season. Lopez was arguably the team’s most consistent player in 2015-16. He is a very good defensive center and his $13 million per year contract is a bargain under the new salary cap. Grant showed some promising signs towards the end of the season, averaging 14,5 points per game in April. He could develop into a rotation player on a good team down the road.

Of course, the Rose trade must be viewed as part of a bigger puzzle. The free agent point guard class of 2017 is expected to be much stronger than this summer, and the Knicks are not done making moves this off-season. They could have as much as $35 million to spend this summer if they renounce their cap holds for Derrick Williams (who just opted out of his contract and became a free agent) and Langston Galloway, which is unlikely.

New York would like to add at least one athletic wing player and now needs a center to replace Lopez. Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol are too big men who are likely on Phil Jackson’s radar. Jackson has a close relationship with Gasol, who he coached in Los Angeles, and has complimented Noah’s game in the past. Dwight Howard is also on the market.

However, even with the addition of Gasol or Noah, the Knicks would likely be a fringe playoff team. Jackson talks about building a culture and the importance of stability, yet he sacrificed that for short-term improvement.

Moreover, it remains to be seen how the two ball-dominant players in Anthony and Rose will co-exist in New York. Perhaps more importantly, the addition of Rose relegates Porzingis to a third option, which could curb the promising youngster’s development.

Lopez and Grant were marginal assets and losing them is not catastrophic, but they were assets nonetheless. The Knicks traded them for a player whose name far exceeds his numbers and is not a reliable building block for the future. It’s business as usual at the Garden.