Update:
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that the Wolves and Knicks are discussing a swap of Rose and Rubio. The trade would give the Knicks a good facilitator next to Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony. The Wolves, meanwhile, would theoretically use it as salary cap relief with Rose set to become a free agent.
Windhorst on ESPN just said Knicks-T'Wolves talking about Rubio-Rose swap. Rubio very likely to be traded by Thursday.
— Bryan Gibberman (@Gibberman10) February 21, 2017
Original Story Follows:
Could the Derrick Rose era in New York be over in less than one year?
According to Ian Begley of ESPN, the Knicks have had talks with “several teams” interested in the point guard. The team specified in Begley’s piece is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been rumored as a potentially active team in the trade market.
Begley does not report what the return package could be.
The motivation for Minnesota to trade for Rose seems to be only one thing: he played under current head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau for several years in Chicago. There has been rampant speculation that Thibodeau would like to trade Ricky Rubio (the Knicks were reported as a potential destination). With Kris Dunn not ready to take the reins as a starting point guard, Rose could theoretically fill that void.
But that’s banking on a lot of progress from Rose who is nowhere near the player he used to be under Thibodeau. In theory, he could replicate that success under his former head coach, but in reality, multiple injuries have made that only a distant possibility.
Trade season means one has to consider the source of reports like this. It is highly possible that the Knicks are leaking this news in order to raise Rose’s value in a potential trade. Rose’s time in New York has been rocky and New York should not be willing to pay him big money to stay in free agency this summer. If Minnesota is truly considering giving up anything, much less anything of high value, to get Derrick Rose, then Thibodeau is not to be trusted as a personnel decision maker.
