Detroit Pistons: How is Derrick Rose doing for the Knicks?

The trade that send Derrick Rose from the Detroit Pistons to the New York Knicks was hardly a blockbuster that rattled the league.

I gave both teams poor grades for the trade, the Pistons for waiting too long to do it and the Knicks for doing it at all.

But it was really a no-risk move for both, as the Knicks got to add low-cost depth their bench while reuniting Rose with his old coach and the Pistons opened up minutes for their young guys while grabbing a 2nd-round pick along the way.

The trade hasn’t been gangbusters for the Pistons, as Dennis Smith Jr. hasn’t played well and doesn’t look like a guy the Pistons will re-sign in the offseason.

It was worth a shot to see if he could rehab his career in Detroit, and there is still time to do it, but it was never really about the return for Rose, it was about giving him the chance to play for a better team (the Knicks?) and freeing up minutes for the Pistons’ bench.

The return for Rose is still pending, but how is he playing so far for the Knicks? Also pending.

Detroit Pistons: The Knicks have been better with Derrick Rose

As a team, the Knicks have won four of the six games since Rose joined the team, enough to propel them to the 7th seed in the mediocre East.

If you are hovering around .500 in the East you’ll probably make the playoffs, so the addition of Rose could be enough to get the Knicks there. But they still aren’t very good and Rose has been middling since going to New York.

He’s averaging 10 points in just over 20 minutes per game for the Knicks and adding 3.2 assists, numbers that aren’t bad when you consider he is a role player.

But his shooting has been a problem, as Rose is hitting just 37.9 percent of his shots overall and just 30 percent from 3-point range.

Rose is still shooting 10 shots per game though, so you could argue that he isn’t making the Knicks much better.

The Derrick Rose trade was not a slam dunk win for either team but it’s not looking like the Pistons gave up much for the meager return.

There is still a lot of season for Rose to get comfortable with his new team and if he ends up helping the Knicks make he playoffs, then it will be a win for them.