With the Knicks eyeing backcourt upgrades this offseason, one potential trade target the team has talked about is Derrick Rose, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com. According to Begley, it’s not clear how serious New York’s interest in Rose is, but the team has internally discussed the possibility of a trade.
Point guard is an area of need for the Knicks, whose incumbent starter at the position is 34-year-old Jose Calderon. The team figures to be involved in the free agent market as it attempts to address the position, but Rose could be a solid fallback option if New York’s top free agent targets sign elsewhere.
There’s no guarantee that the Bulls will trade Rose this summer, but at least one recent report suggested that people around the league think it’s a real possibility. That same report indicated that Chicago will be much more inclined to move Rose rather than Jimmy Butler this offseason. Rose is entering the final year of his contract and is set to earn a $21.323MM salary in 2016/17.
Of course, if Chicago does decide to move Rose, the team won’t give him up for nothing, and the Knicks aren’t exactly loaded with potential trade chips. With the salary cap expected to spike to $92MM+ this offseason, simply clearly Rose’s salary won’t be as advantageous for the Bulls as it might have been in the past, particularly since he only has one year left on his deal.
While Rose has been plagued by injuries since his MVP campaign in 2010/11, he managed to stay on the court for 66 games this past season, his highest mark in five years. In those games, he recorded averages of 16.4 points and 4.7 assists, shooting .427 from the floor.