After all the New York Knicks have been through, Carmelo Anthony probably wants to leave.
Derrick Rose doesn’t.
He reiterated as much while speaking with The Undefeated’s Lonnae O’Neal:
“I would love to stay here,” Rose said of New York. “I love my teammates, I love the coaches, I love the front office. But this will be the first time that I will hit free agency, so I want to take advantage of everything and just see what the free agency system is all about.”
This has basically been his party line for the past few months. And while the idea of anyone actually wanting to play for the Knicks seems ridiculous, Rose isn’t really in a position to alienate potential suitors at the moment.
Not only is he now working his way back from yet another knee injury, this one a torn meniscus in his left knee, but he hasn’t adjusted his play style to meet the tenets of today’s NBA. Though he can still breakdown defenses with his drives, he isn’t an exceptional finisher around the rim. He doesn’t shoot threes. He is a below-average distributor for his position. And he isn’t going to impact the game in a good way on defense.
Combine this with his injury history, and you don’t have a premier free agent. Rose might be treated as such anyway, because he’s still a recognizable name, but make no mistake, his value in today’s league is, at best, a work in progress.
