The Golden State Warriors were reportedly eyeing a former MVP award winner to help the Stephen Curry-led core pursue a fifth championship.
Golden State brought back Gary Payton II, a contributor to their 2021-22 championship season, via trade with the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the deadline. But if things had gone their way, the Warriors would have landed another valuable depth piece in Derrick Rose.
Sources told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports that the defending NBA Champions would have made a run at Rose had he gotten bought out by the New York Knicks. Ultimately, the Knicks decided to hold onto Rose for their own playoff push.
Sources informed Deveney that Rose remains “loyal to” head coach Tom Thibodeau, who also coached the 2011 MVP winner with the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves:
“Golden State was ready to get in the mix there, too, and [the] Miami [Heat]. He would have had some really good options. He wanted to stay in a place where he is not playing, though, and where the team is pretty good but not a real contender. Derrick’s loyal. He is loyal to Thibs. He is loyal to [Knicks official William] Wesley. But they would have been OK with letting him go somewhere else. He did not want to. You have to wonder if he is going to keep playing much longer because he was in a position to reconstruct the end of his career, and he just did not take it.”
Rose has averaged 31 minutes of playing time per game, but the 34-year-old is now averaging just 12.5 minutes per contest. Rose is averaging a career-low 5.6 points per game on a deeper Knicks team that is in position to lock down its second playoff berth in three years.
The Knicks’ offense has been carried by 2022 free agent pickup Jalen Brunson, young star R.J. Barrett and veteran Julius Randle, so Rose has been best-suited in a limited role.
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The Warriors enter play on Friday with a 34-33 record, tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Record for the No. 6 seed in the West.
