By Jack Maloney/ cbssports.com
It’s been a tough season for the Detroit Pistons who currently sit in last place in the Eastern Conference at 5-17. On the road to rebuilding which could take a few years, they’re looking to make even more changes to a roster that was overhauled in the offseason.
Most notably, veteran point guard Derrick Rose is on the trading block and is expected to be moved before the deadline. In fact, the team has come to a mutual agreement with the former MVP to try and trade him, according to Shams Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic. Multiple teams are interested, including the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Rose signed a two-year deal with the Pistons ahead of the 2019-20 season and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. During his time in Detroit he’s been a pretty productive scorer in a sixth-man role, averaging 18.1 points per game last season and 14.2 through 15 games this season. The Pistons, though, have fallen on hard times and it makes sense for both sides to move on. Rose will want to play in the postseason, and as a veteran point guard on an expiring contract, he’ll have a lot of value to playoff teams looking for a boost. As for the Pistons, they can try and get some sort of future asset before Rose leaves for nothing after his contract runs out.
Rose spent five seasons playing for Tom Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls, and the Knicks coach is obviously interested in reuniting. New York has plenty of veteran guards, however, and there’s already some concerns about impressive rookie Immanuel Quickley not getting enough playing time.
As for the Clippers, they’ve been searching for a point guard reinforcement for a while now, so it’s little surprise that they’d check in on Rose’s availability. But whether adding another scoring-first guard makes the most sense for their roster remains to be seen.
