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2017 NBA free agency: 5 players to stay away from

By Brian Sampson

Apr 18, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) talks with forward Serge Ibaka (9) after beating Milwaukee Bucks 106-100 in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) talks with forward Serge Ibaka (9) after beating Milwaukee Bucks 106-100 in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 8, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose (25) holds his head during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose (25) holds his head during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Derrick Rose

If you didn’t already come to your own conclusion that your favorite team shouldn’t sign Derrick Rose, I’ll lay it out for you.

By now, Rose has a reputation that isn’t very favorable with the fans. Sure, he has a sizable pocket of fans who stand by him to this day but for the most part, he has been forgone.

The odd thing about Rose is that he’s been around so long, we forget he’s only 28 years old. He’s also coming off the most points per game he’s scored since 2011-12, so why all the hate?

The main reason is that Rose is a bonafide ball-hog. His usage percentage of 25.6 percent is higher than the likes of Kyle Lowry and Chris Paul. His assist percentage, 21.6, is the worse than any other starting point guard in the NBA besides Patrick Beverley. Oh, and Beverly technically played shooting guard last year, which means Rose did have the lowest assist percentage.

The biggest concern about Rose is his injury history. It’s well-documented how many knee injuries he’s had and that he hasn’t played 82 games ever in his career. Not even once. Shockingly, he hasn’t even played more than 67 games since the 2010-11 season.

Knees don’t tend to get better with age, they usually get worse. As Rose gets older, the knee injuries are more and more likely to continue to be an issue — as they currently are, with Rose coming off yet another knee injury.

Teams tend to want players who A) Play well within their system and B) Can stay healthy and on the floor. At this point, it doesn’t seem like Rose fits either of those categories, no matter the team.