The Derrick Rose era in Chicago is officially over.
As first reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, Rose has been traded to the Knicks along with Justin Holiday and a second-round pick in next year’s draft. In exchange, the Bulls will receive Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, and Jose Calderon.
The Bulls are sending Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday and a 2017 2nd-round pick for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon, per source.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) June 22, 2016
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported that the two teams were in advanced trade talks.
Knicks and Bulls are in advanced talks on a deal to send Derrick Rose to New York, sources tell @ShamsCharania and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 22, 2016
Rose, 27, has looked to be on the outs in Chicago for a while now. The Knicks were first rumored to have interest in trading for the oft-injured point guard late last week.
This deal could signal the beginning of a hard reset by the Bulls of their roster after a disappointing 2015-16 campaign where they went 42-40 and failed to make the playoffs. While Calderon seems little more than a throw-in to make the salaries match, Grant is an exciting, young point guard with a decent ceiling. Lopez is also a capable (albeit, unspectacular) two-way starting center whose inclusion in the deal probably signals the coup de grace for the Bulls days of both Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah.
For the Knicks, meanwhile, they get the point guard upgrade they have so greatly coveted. While Rose’s value has cratered over the last few seasons, he may thrive in a more up-tempo offense under new Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek where he is able to get downhill and attack as well as run high screen-and-rolls with Kristaps Porzingis (who is now free to fulfill his destiny as a stretch-5 with Lopez on his way out of town). Rose should also serve as a nice secondary scorer/creator to take some pressure off Carmelo Anthony.
While the sight of Rose at Madison Square Garden in a Knicks jersey may take some getting used to, it’s an excellent low-risk, low-cost deal with upside for Phil Jackson and Co. at their position of greatest need. It also prevents the team from having to overpay for a point guard this summer. Obviously, Rose’s injury risk is always omnipresent, but nevertheless, this seems like a smart, calculated gamble for the Knicks. While the Rose deal, by itself, won’t get the Knicks back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, it certainly is a damn good start for them.
