Knicks: Free Agent Shooting Guards To Complement Derrick Rose
The New York Knicks have acquired point guard Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls. The next step: complementing the 2011 NBA MVP with a shooting guard.
New York Knicks fans have been calling on team president Phil Jackson to build a postseason-caliber roster for the better part of three years. Jackson has yet to deliver on the promise of a contender, but he may have taken a significant step in the right direction.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Knicks have acquired former league MVP Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls are trading Rose to the Knicks for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and bigger package, sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2016
That’s as much of a blockbuster trade as one can find during the month of June.
Rose isn’t the superstar that he used to be, but he’s still an influential player. He averaged 16.4 points and 4.7 assists in 31.8 minutes per game in 2015-16, including an average of 17.3 points on 44.9 percent shooting during his final 49 outings.
That may seem like an abstract number, but it coincides with the removal of the protective mask that Rose was required to wear early in the season.
If the Knicks can get an efficient 17 points per game out of their new starting point guard, the move will be deemed a victory. More needs to be done for New York to solidify its place in the postseason, however, and that starts at the other guard spot.
Rose is one heck of a player when healthy, but the question beckons: which free agent shooting guards would best fit alongside him?
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