NBA Trade Grades: Derrick Rose traded for Dennis Smith Jr.

Grading this deal for the New York Knicks

This trade is a clear win for the Detroit Pistons, but it’s less obvious what exactly it does for the New York Knicks. It reunites Derrick Rose with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, whom he has plenty of experience with from their time with the Chicago Bulls. In Thibodeau’s eyes, it may enhance the team’s ability to win now, but Rose hasn’t been good this year and it’s likely that the peak of his resurgence is well behind him.

Assuming Rose plays his customary 20-26 minutes per game, that’s going to strip away responsibility from rookie Immanuel Quickley, who is coming into his own. It certainly seemed all along like the Knicks were going to find a way to short-circuit their own rebuild, and in some small way, this trade for Derrick Rose does just that.

The Knicks are trading for Derrick Rose in the hopes that he can make them better, but he’s just not that guy anymore. He’s not going to carry them, even off the bench, and he won’t win them games.

The price of Dennis Smith Jr. and a (likely) second-round pick won’t break the bank for them, but Rose will likely end up providing subtraction by addition. Taking the ball out of Quickley’s hands seems nothing short of counterproductive for the New York Knicks.

Grade: D+