The Knicks got their upgrade at point guard.
The Bulls finally have moved from the Derrick Rose era, and they have a big man to replace the two they are losing.
Chicago and New York have reached a deal that will send Rose to New York for the final year of his contract, something first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
Sources: The Bulls and Knicks are in advanced discussions on Derrick Rose-Robin Lopez deal that involves guard Justin Holiday to New York.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2016
It has since been confirmed by the Knicks.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) June 22, 2016
To be clear, the Knicks get: Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday and a 2017 2nd-round pick.
The Bulls get Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, and Jose Calderon.
I like this deal for the Knicks. I love this deal for the Bulls.
The Knicks desperately needed an upgrade at the point to play the way new coach Jeff Hornacek wants, this gets them a guy who averaged 16.4 points and 4.7 assists per game. He’s still good on the pick-and-roll, and at the end of last season he showed more bounce and explosion then we have seen from him in a while — and now he’s heading into a contract year. He’s never going to be MVP Rose again, but he’s an upgrade over what they had, and it’s an expiring deal the Knicks are not saddled with long term.
No Lopez means expect the Knicks to go after all the key free agent bigs — Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Joakim Noah.
But in the short term, Rose with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis should be in the mix to make the playoffs in the East. If they can stay healthy.
The Bulls needed to get Rose out of the locker room and make this Jimmy Butler’s team — he is the younger, better player right now, and the one that fits what coach Fred Hoiberg wants to do. This should set the tone for team direction and locker room chemistry. (It’s up to Butler to act like a true leader right now, but that’s another story.)
Because of his contract and health, there was almost no market for Rose. They were going to have trouble getting a rack of shoot-around basketballs for him. To land Lopez, Calderon and Grant is a quality haul. Lopez is the key — the Bulls are losing Gasol and Noah for sure (that has been obvious since before the season ended, it was confirmed with this deal), this gets them a quality defensive big who can be an anchor in the paint. Calderon and Grant can be quality backup points, but the Bulls still need a starter.
The only person who doesn’t like this deal for Chicago is Benny the Bull.