As a whole, the New York Knicks seem to be a team on the rise considering their 9-1 record over their last 10 outings and their sole possession of the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed with an overall record of 39-28. However, when it comes to veteran guard Derrick Rose, some believe that his time in the NBA may be coming to an end rather soon.
In a recent sit-down with Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney, an anonymous Eastern Conference GM discussed the veteran guard’s decision to not request a buyout from the organization following this year’s trade deadline and pondered on if it could be seen as an indication that he’s questioning his playing career moving forward.
“He would have had some really good options (had he opted out). He wanted to stay in a place where he is not playing, though, and where the team is pretty good but not a real contender. Derrick’s loyal, he is loyal to Thibs, he is loyal to (Knicks official William) Wesley. But they would have been OK with letting him go somewhere else. He did not want to. You have to wonder if he is going to keep playing much longer because he was in a position to reconstruct the end of his career and he just did not take it,” the executive told Deveney.
Leading up to the trade deadline, reports stated that the Knicks had received inquiry calls regarding the availability of Rose, with the Milwaukee Bucks serving as arguably the most noteworthy franchise to have expressed interest.
Now in his 15 season in the association, the veteran finds himself on the outside looking in on head coach Tom Thibodeau’s nine-man rotation and has played in just 27 games in 2022-23, a majority of which have seen him log 10 or fewer minutes.
Though his desire to remain in New York has predominantly been viewed as a positive, with guys like Julius Randle praising his leadership whilst on the sidelines, the executive seems to believe that it could be seen as a sign that the former league MVP may be mulling over the idea of calling it quits on his NBA career.
Knicks Guard Gearing Up for Major Pay-Day
Derrick Rose may not be all that active of an on-court participant this season, but fellow backup backcourt talent Immanuel Quickley is flat-out thriving in 2022-23, and, as a result of his strong play, Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School believes that he will almost certainly be in line for a lucrative contract extension as soon as this upcoming offseason.
“I am at the point of wondering whether the next contract starts with a one,” Macri said. “I’m looking at the…five sub-max rookie extensions that were handed out last summer…in Jordan Poole, four for ($120 million) guaranteed…Tyler Herro, four for ($113 million or $114 million) guaranteed…Mister RJ Barrett, four for ($107 million) guaranteed…Anfernee Simons, four for ($100 million) that was fully guaranteed, and then De’Andre Hunder, four for ($90 million) I believe fully guaranteed…Has Immanuel Quickley been better than all five of those guys this season in terms of impacting winning basketball?”
Boasting career-high averages seemingly all across the board, the Knicks guard finds himself putting up 13.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per night while shooting 44.7% from the floor and 36.4% from deep.
With his production, particularly since the start of the new year, Quickley has managed to establish himself as the current frontrunner to take home this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award which, should he accomplish such a feat, would make him just the fourth player in Knicks history to take home the illustrious honor.
Hornets Star Reacts to Ending Knicks’ Streak
New York’s nine-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday night, as they were surprisingly bested by the lowly Charlotte Hornets in front of a pack MSG crowd by a final score of 112-105.
Following the game, former All-Star forward Gordon Hayward was asked by Ashley ShahAhmadi of Bally Sports how it felt to beat the red-hot Knicks and, with his response, it was quite apparent that the veteran was quite pleased with his team’s accomplishment.
“Especially on their nine-game winning streak, to win, I know they were stunned. They had the big lead, so, that’s the best feeling of basketball right there,” Hayward said.
Hayward would finish off the night with a near triple-double, posting 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting a highly efficient 52.9% from the floor and 50.0% from distance.
