Contrary to what everybody thought before the beginning of the season, Derrick Rose is having a good time with the Detroit Pistons. At least individually speaking as the point guard has found a way to be relevant in the league once again.
The youngest MVP award winner in history was linked with a move away from Detroit in the first half of the 2019-20 NBA season. Even though he didn’t show any signs of wanting to leave the Motor City, the general belief was that D-Rose needed to go play for a team with bigger expectations this year.
In the end, the 2020 February NBA trade deadline passed with Rose still an official member of the Pistons’ roster. One of those teams interested in the former Chicago Bulls star were the Lakers. In a recent episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed they actually inquired about Rose’s availability via trade before the trade deadline.
Unfortunately for them, the Pistons opted not to ship their point guard. Though they are currently out of the playoff race, Windhorst said that there’s “no chance” that the Pistons will consider buying out Rose’s contract this season.
“No, there’s no chance,” Windhorst said, as transcribed by RealGM.
“He’s under contract for next year at a good number. From what I understand, when the Lakers called the Pistons and expressed an interest in trading for Derrick Rose, the Pistons said ‘Hey, we appreciate you calling, but we’re not trading him. Dwane Casey likes him. We think he’s going to be important for us next year.’ He just wasn’t available.”
Derrick is not the same player that led the Bulls to have the best record in an Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but he still can be helpful for any team in the association.
Rose remains a very reliable scoring option and would immediately address the Lakers’ need of another playmaker and shot creator. This season, the 31-year-old veteran is averaging 18.0 points and 5.7 assists while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc.
