UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
Free agent Derrick Rose signs a two-year, $6.5 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on the first day of the 2023 NBA Free Agency. The New York Knicks declined Rose’s $15.6 million player option earlier this summer to make him a free agent.
Why the Grizzlies Bring In Rose?
The Grizzlies see Rose as a veteran who will bring leadership to the locker room and be a mentor for Ja Morant. The Grizzlies All-Star will serve a 25-game suspension at the start of the 2023-24 NBA season. The 34-year-old Rose will also serve as a backup point guard behind Marcus Smart who arrived in Memphis from Boston.
Last season, Rose appeared in 27 games for the Knicks averaging 5.6 points, 1,7 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game. Rose came in New York during the 2020-21 season from the Detroit Pistons and helped the Knicks get back to the Playoffs for the first time in eight years. That season, Rose averaged 14.9 points and 4.9 assists per game and was often the best player on the Knicks team and he finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting that year.
The following season, Rose had a knee injury that limited him to only 26 games that year and since then he has seen a limited playing time with the Knicks.
The Grizzlies will the sixth team in Rose’s career. he reached his prime early on with the Chicago Bulls who drafted him first overall in 2008.
In 2011, Rose became the youngest player in NBA history to win the MVP award at the age of 21. Unfortunately, the following season in the Playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose tore the ACL in his left knee, and his career took a downfall. However, he has stayed in the league for more than a decade after the injury and the Grizzlies hope that his experience and leadership will help their young team win.
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
