The last few years have seen Derrick Rose rebound on the court to be not just a useful reserve point guard, but this past season he was the best player for the New York Knicks in their postseason series with the Atlanta Hawks. Rose averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 assists per game this season in New York after an early trade from Detroit, posting career-best shooting efficiency at 48.7 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three in 35 games with the Knicks.
He was even better in the playoffs, and while there are questions exactly how sustainable that level of performance could be, he figured to get plenty of looks from teams looking to upgrade their backcourt rotation, even in a robust point guard market this summer. With that as the backdrop, the former NBA MVP could have secured a substantial contract in free agency but, instead of leaving New York, he will be sticking around on a three-year deal worth $43 million.
Free agent G Derrick Rose has agreed to a three-year, $43M deal to return to the New York Knicks, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
Rose will turn 33 years old before the start of the season, and it is certainly possible that he could be declining in the near future. If he produces at the level that he did in 2020-21, though, this level of investment is perfectly fine for Rose, and he brings an element that no one on New York’s current roster can replicate.
From the Knicks side, they continue an exceptionally busy first day of free agency. New York retained both Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel on multi-year pacts, in addition to making a big splash with a massive deal for Evan Fournier. The Knicks took a step forward last season and, at least through the prism of their free agent moves, they don’t intend to retreat for 2021-22.
