Derrick Rose is something.
The New York Knicks point guard talked with NBA.com’s Lang Whitaker for what amounted to a spectacular question and answer session. Seriously, check out the whole thing, especially Rose’s response about his ability to play off the ball.
But, by the end of the article, it did become clear that Rose has no idea how to gauge the public pulse. He legitimately thinks people are comparing the Knicks to the Golden State Warriors:
Q: Knicks fans always have high expectations, sometimes maybe not even grounded in reality over the years. Before last season, Melo came out on media day and talked about managing expectations with such a young team. But with this roster now and all these veterans, what should the expectations be for the Knicks?
ROSE: They’re high. I mean, with these teams right now, they’re saying us and Golden State are the super teams, and they’re trying not to build that many super teams, and Adam Silver came out with the statement and this and that. And the expectations I think of us, we just want to win. Talking to Melo and all the guys who’ve been around. You’ve got Brandon who just signed for one year, he’s got to show why he’s there. I’ve got to show why I’m there. Joakim has to show why he’s there. Everybody’s trying to prove themselves. When you’ve got a group like that, it’s like, alright, I know everybody wants to do that, but we’re going to break this down as simple as possible, and try to win every game. I think winning takes care of every category, as far as being an athlete. You look at endorsements, being on the floor, almost everything — I think winning takes care of all that. And if you’re in the league, winning takes care of all the mistakes, or if you have any problems on teams.
I mean….no, D-Rose. Just no. If there are people who think the Knicks are a superteam, they are drunk. Or stuck in the year 2010-11.
Should the Knicks be better than they were last year? Absolutely. Is it difficult to envision them winning more than the 49 games they combined to win over the last two seasons? Not particularly. But so much about their livelihood is tethered to the awkward health bills of Rose and Joakim Noah. And more than that, they need Rose to be a player he hasn’t been in almost five years.
That’s the biggest part of all this. Rose remained relatively healthy last year and was still less than spectacular. The Knicks would need him to reach 2010-11 levels of explosion to really be considered even the outline of a superteam. And that might not be enough. Rose’s play style then doesn’t fly with what the Knicks need from him now: for him to play like a pass-first point guard.
If he reinvents his play style to that extent and remains healthy, maybe I’ll be the one eating my words. But, as of now, even the most optimistic version of the Knicks doesn’t figure to live up to some of the ridiculous expectations being set.
