Derrick Rose still “can’t believe” that he is a Knick again, his best choice, back with Tom Thibodeau and even the Knicks’ senior vice president, William Wesley, who was involved in his participation in Memphis.
And he seemed happy to be able to mentor Knicks’ debutant point guard, Immanuel Quickley – his off-court partner.
In her first statements to reporters since the negotiation, Rose said that after the defeat in Miami, she thinks of Quickley’s world.
“It shouldn’t be too hard for him,” said Rose. “We are similar. He’s getting double in his debut year. Not many newbies get that kind of attention. For him to see this sooner, it will only make his game better. The game will slow down. And he listens. That’s the best thing about him, he hears. With that, you always have room for improvement. He’s a dog. He’s a dog. I can not explain. You have to be a player to understand this. We are fighting, I know he is fighting. ”
After the morning photo shoot, Quickley revealed that Rose spent dinner time with him and fellow newcomer Obi Toppin.
“He just stressed me out – first of all, he gave me his number – he said anything I needed, just hit him,” said Quickley. “But he sat with me for a while, Obi and I actually just told us that he’s here to help us, he’s here to help us grow and things like that. It’s nice to have a chance to talk to him a bit last night. “
Rose reflected on her first visit to New York with Jeff Hornacek and Phil Jackson. Hornacek tried to get Rose to shoot another 3s, but he was not comfortable. Rose said he is a better 3-point shooter now and hit 2 of 3 on his second Knicks debut.
“I was kind of stubborn,” said Rose. “They wanted me to enjoy shooting 3s and everything, but I felt that at the end of the year the teams would judge me for my effectiveness and efficiency. This is one of the reasons why I didn’t do 3s, and if you look at the team at the time, we had Melo [Carmelo Anthony] and KP [Kristaps Porzingis], so I feel like I didn’t have to shoot 3s. My job was to push the ball and make sure they continued. Years later, I feel that I am adapting. … I am more of a threat now, where you can no longer enter under the screens. I am trying to push the ball, and I am letting the game come to me and I have stopped pushing it ”.
It is now his third visit with Thibodeau.
“It’s the family here,” said Rose. “I have Wes here. I have Thibs here. I have everyone with whom I have succeeded here, establishing a foundation. ”
Several title contenders made offers for Rose, but he confirmed the Post’s report that the Knicks was his first choice.
“Of course,” said Rose. “Although I couldn’t say that at the time, I just wanted to be comfortable. I’ve known these guys since high school, eighth grade, high school. I never really thought about anything else, but really getting here and understanding that they wanted me to help develop the young people they already have here. ”