One important question the Knicks have to answer next week is this: how much do we value Derrick Rose?
Rose, as you know, was a driving force behind New York’s success last season. The Knicks were 11 points better per 100 possessions when Rose was on the court, compared to when he was off.
Rose gave New York timely scoring, shot creation and leadership.
Without Rose, it’s hard to see how the Knicks get to 41 wins and the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
So, you’d assume that the Knicks would prioritize signing Rose this offseason.
Based on Tom Thibodeau’s relationship with Rose, you’d think that Rose returning to New York is one of the safest bets in Vegas.
But one team monitoring the market for Rose last week said that, entering the weekend, some with the Knicks wanted to let Rose find other offers before they made their own.
On one hand, this approach makes sense. It’s the business of basketball.
But the approach can lead to ill feelings between player and organization. At times, it’s led to surprising divorces between players and organizations (for example, Jeremy Lin signing with Houston in 2012).
You can understand teams not wanting to overpay for players.
But teams also have to consider that the value of a player like Rose goes beyond the box score. From his first day with the Knicks, Rose helped Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley get acclimated to life in the NBA.
He played whichever role Thibodeau asked of him. And he was the Knicks best scorer/shot creator on many nights during the 2020-21 season.
For all of these reasons, you’d think Rose would be a lock to return to the Knicks.
But NBC Sports reported that Bulls have internally considered signing Rose. Bleacher Report stated that there is mutual interest between Rose and the Bulls.
So if the Knicks wait for Rose to test his value on the open market, they risk losing him.
Of course, things change quickly in free agency. And the Knicks may have taken a more aggressive approach with Rose leading up to the start of free agency Monday evening.
But entering the weekend, there had been internal discussions within the Knicks organization about possible replacements for Rose.
Let’s assume they take a passive approach with Rose and lose him in free agency.
The ripple effects of losing Rose could extend beyond the court.
It’s easy to see how players – current Knicks and potential future Knicks – may see the Knicks in a negative light if Rose signs elsewhere. The perception that the Knicks undervalue/mistreat their players was prevalent following the Carmelo Anthony trade.
The last thing the Knicks want now is a perception problem. They’re coming off of one of the best seasons in recent memory. So they should make sure they’ve considered every factor when they evaluate Rose’s value.
How they value Rose is one of the most important questions of their offseason.
