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The report comes courtesy of The Athletic’s Shams Charania:
The Pelicans, viewed as a key team in NBA trade market, are receiving calls on Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick from interested teams and have shown openness to discussing both, per sources.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 26, 2021
More in latest Inside Pass at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/KpLWLLTMZ3
Yeah, yeah, Derrick Rose isn’t listed in the tweet, but he’s in the piece, I assure you.
Despite the slow start to the year, Rose, who’s averaging “only” 14.8 points and 4.6 assists per game on 43/33/84 shooting, is still drawing interest from teams. That’s good to know as the Pistons gauge the market around the league for Rose and other Pistons.
Rose has been rumored to the Los Angeles Clippers for quite some time now, but that deal makes less sense (to me, at least) because of the addition of our old friend Luke Kennard. Rose also duplicates a lot of what Lou Williams provides the Clippers. The Clippers 2021 first-round pick is also currently engaged in a pick swap with... the New York Knicks, as part of last year’s Marcus Morris trade. Add all that together, and in my mind, at least, there’s less of a possibility from the Clippers side.
So that just leaves the Knicks.
In terms of assets, the New York Knicks have two first round picks in the 2021 NBA Draft - their own, and the Dallas Mavericks’ pick. The Knicks also have ... the Pistons 2021 second round pick (currently the 31st pick, aka the first pick of the second round), which was ALSO part of last year’s Marcus Morris trade. So immediately, the Knicks have a better suite of assets to offer Detroit for Derrick Rose.
As for why the current 8-seed Knicks would be interested in Rose, there is the Tom Thibodeau connection. Thibs has coached Rose in Chicago and Minnesota (as Shams mentioned) and we all know how much Thibs likes “his guys.” If Thibs thinks replacing Elfrid Payton’s minutes with Derrick Rose will help the Knicks stay in the playoff picture in a shortened season, who are we to disabuse him of that notion?
There’s definitely a deal to be had here. The Pistons were once fans of Dennis Smith Jr., who is currently stuck behind rookie Immanuel Quickley in the point guard rotation. Would the Pistons be interested in DSJ + the Dallas first? Would the flexibility of a really great second round pick be preferable to Trader Troy over a later first-round pick?
What do you think, Pistons fans? Sound off in the comments.