The trade deadline is still three months away, but the New York Knicks have already started to listen to calls from other teams about two of their guards. According to Shams Charania (subscription required), the Knicks “have shown a willingness” to discuss Quickley and Rose “as a way to sort out the team’s glut at the guard position.”
Although Rose is one of Tom Thibodeau’s favorites, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that New York could move him before the February deadline. The 34-year-old is averaging 13.5 minutes per game, which is the lowest for him since the 2017-18 season when he averaged 12.4 minutes in only nine games. With Rose fully healthy, he can be a valuable backup point guard for a contender.
As for Quickley, Knicks fans understandably haven’t reacted well to the report that the organization is open to possibly trading the 23-year-old.
Some teams have had cursory trade conversations w/members of NYK organization involving Derrick Rose, as The Athletic notes. As SNY reported last week, NYK has also gotten calls on Immanuel Quickley. In some talks, NYK has sought draft compensation as part of return, per sources
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 18, 2022
Shams Charania reported Knicks are willing to listen to Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose trade offers
SNY’s Ian Begley reported earlier this week that New York had been getting calls about Immanuel Quickley, but that wasn’t surprising. The Knicks have a surplus of guards and because of that, IQ’s been forced to play a lesser role.
But as Begley wrote, one can assume that New York would be “hesitant to move Quickley.” He’s still young and has yet to be granted the opportunity to reach his full potential. This is pure speculation, but there’s the possibility that maybe IQ would rather be on another team where he can have an increased role. The same could be said for Obi Toppin, who has played behind Julius Randle since he was drafted in 2020.
Still, with the Knicks in pursuit of more draft compensation to potentially use to land a star, Quickley shouldn’t be traded. He’s off to a shaky start offensively, averaging a career-low 8.9 minutes per game and shooting 38% from the floor and 29.3% from three. IQ’s become a great defender though, and fans saw that in New York’s 106-103 win over Denver on Wednesday when Quickley locked down Jamal Murray on the final play of the game.
Rose is averaging only 6.9 points per game and is shooting 40.2% from the field and 36.8% from three. Out of the two players, the Knicks should be more willing to move on from the 14-year veteran over their first-round pick in 2020.
As we continue to creep closer to the trade deadline, the needs of opposing teams will become more clear. And if New York decides to trade Quickley over Rose, the fan base might be more disappointed than when Woj reported that Cleveland was trading for Donovan Mitchell.
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