Adrian Wojnarowski: Leon Rose wants Rip Hamilton in New Jersey out of loyalty to his client

Understandably, much of the coverage of the all-talk, no-action Pistons-Nets-Nuggets trade is centered around Denver and New Jersey, and in particular, trying to decipher what Carmelo Anthony’s intentions are.

But in Adrian Wojnarowski’s latest column, he has an interesting tidbit. Basically, he hints that Rip Hamilton‘s contract would make it more difficult for New Jersey to pursue Chris Paul next year. So why would they want to take on Hamilton’s contract then? Woj explains:

"Rose is ultimately indebted to Wesley as the recruiting muscle of his agency, but has a unique affinity and loyalty to Hamilton. Hamilton is one of his longest-standing clients, and Rose wants badly to pull Hamilton away from the rebuilding Pistons and partner him with Anthony and Chauncey Billups in New Jersey. Rose – not anyone else – constructed the idea to send Hamilton to the Nets. How this all benefits Anthony remains a mystery."

I think everyone involved realizes that this is an agent-driven trade, but actually seeing Rose’s motivation for it, if that is indeed his motivation, is interesting.