NBA intellectuals are more optimistic about the Knicks’ signing of playmaker Derrick Rose – mainly because he can work again with coach Tom Thibodeau.
Although Rose, 32, has had several knee surgeries, Thibodeau somehow always gets the best of him. He won the MVP at the age of 22 in Chicago under the command of the current Knicks coach.
“He was very good in Minnesota [with Thibodeau], maybe not so good in Detroit, ” said an NBA personnel director. “Thibodeau always makes Rose play her best. ”
The Knicks are not going to ask Rose to play an important role – probably as a backup for Elfrid Payton and perhaps as a close-up in many games.
According to a Pistons source, Rose preferred to leave the bank in Detroit. The Pistons source said there was an unofficial minute restriction for Rose because of her previous surgeries, including one that ended her season with the Knicks in 2016-17.
The Pistons believed that Rose’s production generally decreased after 23 minutes; he averaged 22.8 minutes this season in Detroit.
Anyway, this is probably the most that the Knicks have in mind for Rose. The Knicks practically announced with this exchange that they plan to be in the middle of a playoff race – damn youth.
After 25 games, the Knicks, whose home-and-home continues with the Heat on Tuesday in Miami, is 11-14, going into second place on Monday at the Eastern Conference.
“It makes sense because there is a lot of pressure on the organization – they feel they need to win,” said an NBA executive familiar with the Knicks’ thinking. “It’s not normal to just play better than last season and make progress. This is not good enough. There is an internal pressure that they want to overcome, no matter the minutes [Rose] takes. They just want to win. He still has a tremendous ability to score.
“Thibs understands Rose,” added the executive. “Rose understands Thibs.”
An Eastern Conference official loves change.
“It will help,” he said. “He still gets to the rim with ease and is a better sniper than he was five years ago. The big advantage is that Thibs trusts him in clutch situations. He will be a positive force in games played. “
There is the novice who thinks that the owner of the reserve Immanuel Quickley will lose minutes to Rose. This may be the case on some nights, although fighter Austin Rivers’ playing time seems more dangerous.
Brass knicks may be more receptive to Thibodeau by reducing Quickley’s role on some nights – despite his popularity – as long as his lottery pick, Obi Toppin, gets regular action outside the bank.
“They have to find a way for Obi to play – they recruited him [eighth] and they will insist on continuing their tendency to play, ” said the executive. “Quickley is a late guy from the first shift. Start saying something if a lottery guy doesn’t play, then they’ll find a way to do that. ”
Off the bench for Detroit, Rose averaged 14.2 points and 4.2 assists in 15 games, but hasn’t played since January 30, while the Pistons silently tried to switch him.
“He’s still a good and productive player, ” said a scout from the Western Conference. “Your familiarity with the Thibs makes sense to me for the Knicks. He adds another ace. ”
Rose will likely support Payton in a packed defense court that also includes Guards Rivers and Quickley.
“The good thing about the Knicks is that everyone on the defense court is interchangeable,” said an Eastern Conference scout. “Derrick can play with Austin, he can play with Immanuel, he can play with Elfrid. ”
More negotiations may be underway before the March deadline. Sources indicate that Payton increased its commercial value and attracted interest.
With Rose’s $ 7.7 million salary being exchanged for Dennis Smith Jr.’s $ 5.4 million salary, the Knicks have more than $ 15 million in limit space to facilitate the math of future trade.
“The team was developing consistency and chemistry, so the shot could backfire,” said another talent assessor. “But they did [Rose] for basically nothing. And it can be a good commercial asset and they need more scoring scams. ”
The Clippers, Bucks, Heat and Nets would have made offers for Rose. But, as The Post reported, Rose wanted this second period to go to the Knicks. It is the third with Thibodeau.
“I think the change surprised many teams, ” said another NBA scout. “They expected it to be traded for a title contender. He definitely still has a lot to contribute. Obviously, the connection is the coach. ”