Where , and when Derrick Rose was traded to , by the Detroit Pistons,was noted by NBA players. That could help the club out in the future.
In the trade, getting a guy who was literally heading to play in the G-League, and also what should be a mid-second round draft pick for Derrick Rose, is not exactly a major trade haul for the Detroit Pistons.
However, there are other factors at work with this deal. In the end, the Rose trade may pay off much bigger than merely getting Dennis Smith Jr. and Charlotte’s 2021 second-rounder.
NBA players noted the Derrick Rose trade, and that should help the Detroit Pistons in future
A quick look at the NBA standings shows that basically everyone except the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in the hunt for a playoff spot. And, when Karl-Anthony Towns returns, do not count out the T-Wolves from making a run.
That means 28 teams will be looking for help either to make the playoffs or go farther in the post-season.
Since everyone thinks they are in the playoff hunt (or at least want their owner to think that), there are going to be less sellers than usual as the trade deadline (March 25 )approached. The trade deadline is the last realistic chance NBA teams have to improve themselves.
Common sense says there would be a market for Derrick Rose’s services. What team could not use a fast, play-making point guard who can score off the dribble and is also a great team leader?
The calls to Pistons general manager Troy Weaver would have been fast and furious in mid-March, the pressure on other teams (usually by their owner) to show they are going all out to win.
Now, we are not talking crazy here, like what the Lions got for Matthew Stafford. But, a lottery- protected future first-round pick would seem to be doable. Detroit was offered that last season for Rose, but the old regime turned it down.
So why? Why now Troy?
First, for all the hype about getting a former 9th overall pick in the draft in Dennis Smith Jr., a look at his contract (courtesy Spotrac) shows that Detroit really gains almost nothing by having him.
Smith will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. To retain his rights, the Pistons would have to make a qualifying offer of $7.7 million. Unless he makes a massive upgrade of his play of the past couple of seasons, that is not happening.
So Smith will likely go into the off-season an unrestricted free agent. Detroit could bid for his services, but they would have no special advantage.
Maybe Smith will like the Pistons culture, the players, coach Dwane Casey and want to return after being with the team for a few months. Maybe he rejects other teams offers to return to the Pistons, if they even want him.
Bottom-line, Smith is a short-term rental.
As for the Charlotte pick, unfortunately, the way LaMelo Ball is playing, the Hornets will be in the thick of the playoff hunt. Expect their second rounder to be in the No. 42-45 range.
The ironic thing is, the Knicks have the rights to the Pistons’ own 2021 second-rounder. If Troy Weaver had simply said “You get Rose and I get my second round pick returned to me” and the Knicks agreed, everyone would think it was a great deal.
I have no doubt that Weaver did ask for Detroit’s second-rounder and was rebuffed.
So why, in early February, did Weaver not simply walk away, knowing he probably could get more for Rose if he waited. If not from the Knicks, than from another team.
Detroit Pistons doing Derrick Rose a solid?
The New York Knicks is a perfect landing spot for Derrick Rose at this stage of his career. The Knicks coach, Tom Thibodeau, was Rose’s coach during his MVP season in Chicago and later on in Minnesota.
New York in the preseason was projected to be worse than the Pistons, yet they find themselves battling for a playoff berth with a surprising 11-14 record and ninth place in the Eastern Conference (top 10 make it this season).
New club president Leon Rose knows the Knicks fans are tired of hearing about rebuilding, they want to see the team actually win at least half its game and make the playoffs.
They also have a young guard in Immanuel Quickly who could use some mentoring. Rose was excellent in lending a guiding hand to Detroit’s young guards.
While the trade deadline is not for six more weeks, the quicker Rose gets acclimated to the Knicks, the better for him and the team. Of course, the Pistons are not here to send a player wherever they may like, whenever they feel like it.
However, there are some mitigating factors with Derrick Rose:
- His contract expires at the end of the season, so he was not going to be part of the future.
- Rose has been a super good soldier. Never complaining about not starting or playing time, a real good role model.
- Who knows what the trade market will really be in late March. Maybe there will be a lot of buyouts that dilute the market. And Rose has a long injury history, it is not a sure thing he will be healthy at that time.
So Weaver took an OK deal from the Knicks instead of waiting for a knocks-your-socks-off offer to come along later. The Pistons got something for a player who was never going to be part of the future and Rose lands in a happy place for him.
Before the Nets game on Tuesday night, coach Dwane Casey, in so many words, said that the Pistons were doing Rose a favor by sending him to the Knicks. (courtesy Omari Sankofa II):
"“We had a great mutual understanding of where he was, where we are, and what he had to do for himself and his family … Troy did a good job of accommodating him and getting an asset back for him and getting an opportunity to have a player like Dennis (Smith).”"
NBA players see what Detroit Pistons did
NBA players talk. That is how those Superteams get put together. But they also talk about other things as well, like what coaches to play for, what organizations do right by their players, what are the most fun place to go after a game (a lot on this point).
One of the topics is how NBA teams treat their players. Derrick Rose is a respected player throughout the league for how he is as a player and a person.
If he had been mistreated, like held on until the end of the season, or shipped somewhere he would be not comfortable with the situation, it would have echoed in locker rooms around the NBA. ‘Hey, they did D-Rose wrong’, and agents would have been instructed to cross the Motor City off of prospective future destinations.
But now the opposite will occur. Rose is very happy with how Detroit handled his situation, and this will be noted by the other players. Also, agents will see how the Pistons can be accommodating , when they can, and they can advise clients as such.
In the future, there will be players that Troy Weaver and the Pistons will be interested in signing and what they did with Derrick Rose will be a positive in their favor. Now, money talks and it not like someone is going to take like $10 million less to go to Detroit because they were nice to Rose.
But, if it is close, a player will remember this and think “Hey, they helped D-Rose when they could, they are all right’ and could prove the different in going with the Pistons or another team.
What Detroit got in the Rose trade will probably just be a blip in the future direction of the Pistons. However, with a new regime in charge, reputation does matter, and Detroit did help itself in that regard. We will see if it helps in future dealings.