Very rarely do the New York Knicks make sensible moves, so it was no surprise to see ESPN’s Ian Begley report that they are interested in re-signing Derrick Rose. But the Knicks haven’t gone all-in on the former MVP yet:
The Knicks’ interest in the point guard is dependent on several factors, including his health and his asking price.
We’ll see how much cash president Phil Jackson is willing to shell out for an injury-prone point guard that ranked 19th among point guards in PER last season and is coming off yet another knee surgery. Back in January, a report revealed Rose will seek a max contract this offseason.
According to Begley, the Knicks don’t want to pay a large sum of money for a free agent point guard like Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, George Hill, Jrue Holiday or Jeff Teague. Not that the Knicks have any chance of competing next year anyway, but if they don’t bring back Rose, their starting point guard would be rookie Frank Ntilikina or … Ron Baker? Yeah, it’s not good. But then again, it’s in the Knicks’ best interest to tank and get another potential star to pair with power forward Kristaps Porzingis and Ntilikina.
That is, if Porzingis is still around next season. Even though he’s one of the top rising stars in the NBA, Jackson has been seeking trade offers, although those efforts appear to have died down since the draft.
Knicks fans had tons of hope going into last season with Porzingis as a potential franchise centerpiece to build around. Then Jackson’s mishandling of Carmelo Anthony and insistence on running the triangle offense led to Porzingis skipping his exit interview, sending the franchise into something of a tailspin.
Even though signs point toward Porzingis staying in New York, at least for now, everything about this franchise is a complete mess.
