Center Joakim Noah is out for the season, and backup point guard Brandon Jennings was just released. Could the unthinkable happen, leading to Derrick Rose being waived by the New York Knicks in his first season with the team?
The past few days have seen a few major shakeups to the New York Knicks’ lineup. On Monday, the Inquisitr wrote that the Knicks had released eight-year veteran Brandon Jennings , the team’s second-string point guard who had seen his numbers decline once again but still played admirably at times as a fill-in starter for Rose. Through 58 games, Jennings has averaged just 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, and as we pointed out, those are substantially lower than his career numbers, thanks to his backup status as a Knick.
Yesterday, a report from ESPN cited The Vertical ‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, who had stated that Joakim Noah would be out for the rest of the season due to arthroscopic knee surgery. Originally expected to rebound from an injury-riddled 2015-16, Noah had struggled upon joining the Knicks this season, with his averages of 5.0 points and 8.8 rebounds among the lowest of his career. His departure may mean even more minutes for rookie revelation Willy Hernangomez and journeyman backup Kyle O’Quinn at the center position.
Joakim Noah had enjoyed his best years in the NBA as the defensive-oriented man in the middle for the Chicago Bulls, where he benefited from the top-notch play of point guard Derrick Rose. But is Rose next to be waived as the Knicks deal with the prospect of missing the playoffs once again? A recent tweet from the New York Daily News ‘ Frank Isola suggests that just may be what Knicks General Manager Phil Jackson has in mind, even with Jennings’ recent release.
Lot of chatter around NBA that the Knicks might also release Derrick Rose. Would Phil really do that? Clearly, he’s not afraid to be fired.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) February 27, 2017
New York Knicks Reportedly Exploring Trade Of Derrick Rose To Minnesota Timberwolves For Ricky Rubio – Forbes https://t.co/j0CQifSk6s
— Minne Timberwolves (@MinneTimberview) February 28, 2017
According to CBS Sports , the timing of Isola’s new tweet is interesting, as he made that remark just two days after former NBA guard B.J. Armstrong, who represents Rose as his agent, informed both the New York Post and SiriusXM NBA that “D-Rose” is committed to helping the Knicks on a long-term basis. He will be entering free agency this summer, and he had been the subject of many trade rumors ahead of the deadline, including one from Forbes suggesting he may be traded to Minnesota for Ricky Rubio and reunited with former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Should Derrick Rose be waived, this could mean his run with the New York Knicks won’t even last a whole season despite the fact he’s averaged a very solid 17.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 51 out of a possible 60 games. Rose and reserve wingman Justin Holiday were traded from the Chicago Bulls to New York in June 2016, with Chicago getting center Robin Lopez and guards Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant in return.
As established above, the official stats suggest that Rose, while not the same player before injuries hampered his career with the Chicago Bulls, is still playing quite well. But CBS Sports added that his subpar defense has been especially harmful to the Knicks, and his subpar 23.6 percent shooting clip from three-point range has not helped matters any. That “ceiling” that limits his usefulness at this point in his career is why the publication believes Derrick Rose being waived might make more sense in a real life application than it does on paper.
“The conundrum is that the only way he can be effective is by having the ball in his hands, but he’s not an efficient enough scorer or effective enough distributor to command full control of an offense. This is why it wouldn’t be completely nuts for the Knicks, having decided not to consider re-signing him in the offseason, simply let him go.”
All in all, it’s been a disappointing 2016-17 for the New York Knicks with the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors and the recent round of releases and injury woes. And as CBS Sports puts it, Derrick Rose being waived, should it happen, may be New York’s “biggest admission” that their offseason moves in the summer had all misfired.
[Featured Image by Al Bello/Getty Images]