Derrick Rose made his (second) debut for the New York Knicks on Tuesday as the team took on the Miami Heat. Rose is a high-profile name joining a team in desperate need of some star power, but upon his arrival, the former MVP made sure to reach out to Knicks rookies Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin to set the record straight.

Rose knows exactly why the Knicks brought him back to New York, and he made sure that one of the first things he did with the team was to let the young guns realize what was in store:

Rose is no longer the MVP-caliber player he once was during his younger years. As such, he is not expected to serve as the Knicks' primary option on offense. Instead, he will play the role of a mentor to New York's core of young and promising up-and-comers.

Related NewsArticle continues below
Featured image Charles Oakley
Knicks great Charles Oakley defends Tom Thibodeau with blunt message to critics
Bloodied Knicks' Josh Hart sitting on the court from Game 5 with Jaylen Brown and Derrick White on either side of him wearing boxing gloves
Knicks lack of focus, failure to defend 3-pointers ends hope of eliminating Celtics in Game 5

According to Quickley, Rose went out of his way to tell himself and Toppin that one of his missions coming in is to aid in their development:

“He just stressed to me — first of all he gave me his number — said anything I need just hit him,” Quickley said on Zoom after Tuesday’s morning shootaround, via Marc Berman of the New York Post. “But he sat down with me a little bit, me and Obi actually, just told us he’s here to help us, he’s here to help us grow and things like that. It’s good to get a chance to talk to him a little bit last night.”

It's great to hear the type of unselfish mindset Rose currently has with his new team. He may no longer be the cornerstone superstar he once was, but there's no denying that he will play a key role in New York's success this term — both on and off the court.