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Derrick Rose isn’t what he used to be, and that might be an understatement. But while he’s no longer a nightly producer of highlight plays, he can still be quite a contributor for the New York Knicks when given minutes. With the NBA trade deadline only less than two months away, though, his name is starting to be brought up in trade rumors.
For Rose, it’s clear that he wants to remain part of the Knicks. In a recent interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic, the former NBA MVP shares his true feelings about how content he is with the role he’s serving for New York under head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“The team is keeping communications open with me: When they told me I don’t think that they want to move me like that, they know that I have a lot left, and they love my connection and relationship that I have with all of the players on the team,” Rose said. “I’m not in the locker room trying to f— up the vibe of the team by having a messed up attitude like that. I’ve had so many lives in the NBA that now I’m in the position where I can sit back, teach the young guys, and if Thibs needs me, I can catch a rhythm and play the way I want to.”
Rose is now mere insurance on the Knicks bench, with Jalen Brunson clearly on top of the point guard pecking order in the Big Apple. That being said, he’s still an asset for the Knicks, particularly because of his locker room presence. On the court, he can still produce. In fact, Rose is fifth on the team with 17.2 points per 36 minutes.
Rose signed a three-year deal with the Knicks worth $43.56 million back in August 2021, with the third year of that deal coming with a 2023 club option.
It’s unclear at the moment how exactly the Knicks view Rose beyond this season, thus the speculations that he might be traded at the deadline. Given that he carries a $15.59 million club option in the 2022-23 NBA season, there’s a case to be made that the Knicks — or whichever team he would land in the event of a trade — would be better waiving Rose by the end of the 2022-23 NBA season.