With one trade the New York Knicks basement dwelling days officially appears to be over, unless you listen to the critics that say Phil Jackson has made an Isiah Thomas move and and let the house go for washed up talent.
Here is my answer to those critics– Shut up.
The Knicks traded Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon for Justin Holiday and Derrick Rose, yes that Rose. The former #1 pick, the former All Star and former MVP of the NBA. When speaking of Rose that word comes up a lot– former. Rose still has the skills to be considered one of the better PG’s in the league but injuries and maybe mental issues concerning his confidence has caused his game to slip in the past several years. Maybe he was feeling the LeBron James effect of trying to restore his home town team back to respectability. Either way some of those issues are gone. He longer will be looked upon as the face of a franchise as the Knicks clearly belong to Carmelo Anthony the same as it was when James invaded Dwayne Wade’s house in Miami. The result of that was four straight Finals appearances and 2 NBA titles. I’m not say the Knicks are championship bound but they are closer than they was Monday morning.
Lopez was the shocker of the trade due to the money they threw at him last season during free agency. His production on the floor was terrible as he finished the year with averages of 10/7/2. I can understand why the quick reaction to let him go as no player earning $13M+ per season should have such below average numbers but his salary was another reason this deal had to be done. As for Grant and Calderon, the Knicks traded away both their floor generals in hopes that Rose will be able to do what two players couldn’t, run the offense. With new coach Jeff Hornacek looking to run more Rose looks to be a perfect fit to pair with Melo and Kristaps Porzingis.
Rose comes with baggage as well as a hefty price tag of $21M but if the Knicks can get any kind of production out of him it may be well worth it. Last season they ranked 26th in the league in assist with only 20 per game and now that they have a PG who hasn’t played with these type of shooters on the perimeter and running a new up-tempo offense we finally may get to see what kind of PG Rose can be. His career has been to get to the rim while he has played with other slashes but in NY things will be different.
This may seem like a desperation act on the part of Jackson but it’s worth the risk in the long run. The 2016 season will begin with so much hope, not only for the city and fans but for the team as well. Melo can breathe a little easier now, now that Jackson is showing some interest in the Knicks and KP can rejoice that he does not have to play the savior for at least another season.
The weird part about this deal is, I think it’s just the beginning. Jackson still has roughly $41M to play around with.. Hello Kevin Durant or Dwight Howard?
To be continued…