Update 1:
Rose’s close friend Joakim Noah told reporters that he reached the point guard following the game. He did not elaborate further on what caused Rose’s absence but it appears that he is fine.
Joakim Noah says he's spoken to Derrick Rose after the game and that Rose is OK.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 10, 2017
Rose’s other teammates simply stated that they were hoping he was fine while head coach Jeff Hornacek refused to elaborate on the issue at this time:
Hornacek wouldn't comment on whether or not NYK had reached Rose: "We're not going to go into it. Everything will become clear later on."
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 10, 2017
Original Story Follows:
The New York Knicks continue to provide strange headlines. Just minutes before the Knicks’ matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, it was revealed that point guard Derrick Rose was not with the team, despite a lack of an appearance on the injury report prior to the game.
Brandon Jennings is starting tonight versus @PelicansNBA – Derrick Rose is not with the team.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) January 10, 2017
Even more strangely, it appears like the Knicks organization and even some of Rose’s close confidants have no idea where the point guard is.
At least one team official who tried to reach Derrick Rose before the game on Monday was unable to do so, league sources told ESPN.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 10, 2017
Sources: There are team officials, teammates and close associates unclear of reason for Derrick Rose's absence for Knicks-Pelicans at MSG.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 10, 2017
Sources: At tip-off, Knicks still hadn't been in contact with Derrick Rose. Unclear if they've reached him — or kept trying — during game.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 10, 2017
This is obviously an incredibly odd situation. The fact that no one knows where Rose is is at least a little scary. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski did drop one theory:
As you'd expect, sources say Rose was unhappy with fourth quarter benching on Friday in Milwaukee — but unclear if that's impacted absence.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 10, 2017
In that game, Rose was benched in favor of undrafted free agent Ron Baker. Rose may have enough of an ego to be upset about the benching, but it seems improbable that he would ignore any and all attempts to reach him.
Obviously, we are hoping that Derrick Rose is not in any danger. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
