Derrick Rose has not set foot on the court for the Knicks in 2023.
He played well for the Knicks the past couple of years before he was injured, but this season has seen very limited minutes and is currently well out of the rotation. That sparked some trade interest and curiosity around the league about whether he would get bought out. One of the teams wondering are the Phoenix Suns, reports Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT.After swinging the deal of the season in acquiring Kevin Durant at the 2023 trade deadline, the Phoenix Suns are now surveying the market for another ball-handler to assist Chris Paul and Cameron Payne, league sources tell Bleacher Report....
However, there is a primary candidate the team is monitoring, according to sources: New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose... A buyout still feels unlikely, but sources close to the situation don’t believe the door is completely shut on the possibility.
The report also says the Knicks are not planning to pick up Rose’s $15.6 million team option for next season, which was expected. That said, Rose is a Tom Thibodeau favorite, the Knicks aren’t going to approach him about a buyout. Rose would have to initiate that himself. To this point he has not and, as Haynes notes, is not expected to.
Which is why this kind of leak happens — someone is trying to plant the idea of jumping to a contender in Rose’s head. The reality is with CP3 and Payne, the Suns can offer minimal minutes for Rose, especially in the playoffs. However, if a deep playoff run and an outside shot at a ring motivates Rose, that appears more likely in Phoenix than New York.
It’s something to watch over the final days of the buyout market. Players need to be waived by next Wednesday, March 1, to be eligible to be on a playoff roster for another team.