Rod Beard | The Detroit News
The Derrick Rose era in Detroit looks to be coming to a close.
The veteran point guard appears to have played his last game with the team, amid reports that the Pistons are working on a trade, with the New York Knicks as one of the suitors, a league source told The Detroit News on Saturday.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that both Rose and the Pistons have agreed that a trade would be best for both sides and that other teams also are interested in Rose.
Rose, 32, is in the final season of his two-year contract after signing as a free agent in 2019. He was reunited with his former agent, Arn Tellem, who has since become the Pistons’ vice chairman.
Rose has missed three games on the current western road trip. He had a stomach issue for Tuesday’s game at Utah and was inactive Friday night against the Phoenix Suns for injury management. Coach Dwane Casey said before Saturday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers that Rose would be out because of “personal reasons.”
In a potential trade, the Pistons would be looking to gather assets for Rose, who has shown that he can still produce at a high level. The Pistons have managed his playing time well and in the right situation, he could be a key contributor in a starting lineup or as a volume scorer off the bench.
The Knicks’ head coach is Tom Thibodeau, who has coached Rose both with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Last season, in 50 games with the Pistons including 15 starts, Rose posted 18.1 points and 5.6 assists, his highest totals since 2012, before his debilitating ACL injury. In 15 games this season, he’s still productive: 14.2 points and 4.2 assists, though his playing time has decreased from 26 minutes to about 23.
A Derrick Rose to the Knicks trade is “close” but not final, league sources tell @YahooSports — Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) February 7, 2021
Ideally, the Pistons would receive draft assets or a young player to evaluate in return for Rose.
“Frank Ntilikina is one player who has come up in discussions between Pistons and Knicks about a potential Derrick Rose trade,” wrote Ian Begley, of SNY.tv.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard