Derrick Rose Reportedly Wants To Stay With The Knicks

New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose wants to stay with the team this upcoming season. This past season, Rose made $21.3 million in salary. However, Rose struggled to consistently put up good numbers, but did show he still has can play at a high-level if he stays healthy. For Derrick, injuries have been an issue throughout most of his career, but he’s got one MVP award and at times he still can show flashes of his old self.

Rose was close to finishing the season out until he got injured in the last month of the season. Later, it was revealed he had suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injury required Rose to miss at least 6-8 weeks. Rose will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and it is unsure if the Knicks still have an interest in Rose at the moment. He and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, have expressed their interest in staying with the team, with Rose even saying he would be willing to take a pay cut.

“Derrick loves New York and wants to be there,” Armstrong told Bleacher Report recently. “We’ve expressed that to them and been very consistent about it. Whether it happens is on them; all we can do is be clear.”

The free agency signing period will be coming soon and it shouldn’t take long for Rose to find out what moves Phil Jackson has in store moving forward. There are plenty of young talented players in this year’s NBA Draft that play the same position as Rose, and it will be hard to look past those players. Also, with the trade rumors going on with the Knicks best player, Carmelo Anthony, this summer, the team’s future looks rather unclear.

Tom Thibodeau was the coach for the Chicago Bulls when Derrick Rose was arguably the best point guard in the league. They spent a total of five seasons together before Thibodeau was let go by the team in 2015. A season later, Rose was also let go by the Bulls. That same year, Thibodeau decided to take the head coaching job for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

If the Knicks don’t show any interest this summer in keeping Rose, he could possibly end up back with his old coach in Minnesota. The Timberwolves have a young core led by center Karl-Anthony Towns and forward Andrew Wiggins. Both were No. 1 overall picks in back-to-back seasons. Wiggins in 2014 and Towns in 2015. The biggest thing the Wolves are missing is veteran leadership. Derrick Rose could be that missing piece they need to become a possible playoff contender.

The 2017 NBA Draft will be held June 22, and will be broadcast on ESPN. The NBA free agency period begins July 1.

What do you think the New York Knicks will do on both of those important dates to improve the team?

[Featured Image by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images]