SPANISH HARLEM – My beloved Knicks made a splash trade this week. They traded Jerian Grant, Robin Lopez and Jose Calderon for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday and a 2nd round pick in 2017. My first reaction was that of excitement but as a Knicks fan, there was a sense of fear that comes with every trade the Knicks make.
I have read some articles, listened to sports radio and also watched various sports channels. As with everything in this day and age, I found some conflicting reports. Some love it and some hate it. I personally see the reason for doing it, we know what we had in Calderon, and we knew that Jerian Grant needed more seasoning. The one piece the Knicks really gave up was Robin Lopez, who provided energy, defense and from time to time, a good scoring option.
The potential we get with Rose is more than we have come to expect from Point Guards recently in a Knicks uniform. For a moment during the day, as I heard the stories come out, I thought to myself….could this be another Stoudemire situation. A former great player with bad knees, that takes up cap space for years to come. But there was some relief in knowing that if this doesn’t work out, Rose is off the books next year and we try again to find the right guard to lead this team.
The real question should be, what to do if he plays great? What type of contract should he get? The Knicks can either sign Rose (hopefully for less) or go in another direction if they feel his knees won’t hold up. At least now they will know what they have in Rose and make an informed judgement from what they see and hear from their trainers.
I like the risks involved and sometimes you have to take risks when the team doesn’t have the value it once did when attracting free agents. Rose was once a great player and regardless of the bad knees, he can still be a very good player. I know more than most that the Knicks have made some bonehead trades and signed some free agents that were well past their prime but Derrick Rose is still young and I still don’t know what they will get from him for a whole season, that makes me sad and excited at the same time…
That’s it for now please feel free to fire away below – I know some of you may have something to say about me posting two days in a row… Also, please follow us on Twitter @MeetTheMatts and @BuddyDiaz19.
