By Mathew Levine
As everyone reading this likely knows, the Knicks acquired Derrick Rose this summer in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks sent over Jose Calderon, now sophomore Jerian Grant, and Robin Lopez to the Bulls in exchange for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and a 2017 second round pick. This blockbuster trade has been extremely controversial, but I am here break it down by the numbers, so you can decide who, if anyone, “won” this trade.
Jose Calderon was arguably one of the top five worst starting point guards in the NBA, averaging 7.6 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 1.2 turnovers per a game. Those stats while playing 28.1 minutes a game is nowhere near how an NBA starter should perform. His only appealing stat of the 2015-2016 season was his 41.4% shooting from the three. On top of his mostly poor offensive play, Calderon played atrocious defense, if any at all, which is a terrible flaw to have as a point guard in a league loaded with star guards. Despite these stats and his terrible defense, Calderon isn't useless, just not an NBA starter. Starting this next season at 35 years of age, it’s time Calderon comes off the bench as a role player, however, a role player of Calderon’s caliber is not worth the $7.7 million he is set to make this next season. This is why the Knicks dumping him in this trade was a smart move heading into the free agency.
Jerian Grant struggled to get minutes on a struggling Knicks team, especially for a first round pick (19th), averaging only 16.6 minutes a game. He averaged 5.6 points, 0.7 steals, 1.1 turn overs, 1.9 rebounds, 0.1 blocks, and 2.3 assists a game, shooting 39.4% from the field and a horrible 22% from the three. Many Knicks fans were wondering why the rookie wasn’t seeing more minutes, and in an interview with Ian Begley from ESPN, Phil Jackson stated, “He really didn’t deserve more time. He wasn’t helping us win in a lot of ways”. Grant finally saw more playing time in April after all playoff hopes for the Knicks were lost, starting in all of the last six games. He averaged 14.5 points, 3.7 assists and rebounds, 1.33 steals, and 0.33 blocks and 2.17 turnovers a game, averaging 30.8 minutes a game. These stats aren’t bad, and I believe Grant has a future in the NBA as a role player, but the Knicks couldn’t give away nothing to make the deal with the Bulls.
The biggest gain for the Bulls in the trade was acquiring Robin Lopez. With Pau Gasol entering free agency at 36 years old, the Bulls made a wise decision to not spend the $15.5 million that the Spurs did to sign him. With Joakim Noah also entering free agency after only playing in 29 games due to injury, the Bulls needed to look for a new starting center, and they were able to attain that in this trade with Robin Lopez. Lopez averaged 10.3 points, 1.6 turnovers, 1.6 blocks, 1.4 assists, 0.2 steals, and 7.3 rebounds a game. Lopez is listed at seven feet tall, so 7.3 rebounds a game isn't very impressive. The good thing for Lopez and the Bulls is he still has time to grow, entering the beginning of his prime at 28 years old. He has time to improve his rebounding. Another upside for Lopez is he played in all 82 games this year, which is special in today’s NBA for a starter. He is set to make $13.2 million this season, and his contract will go through the 2018-2019 season. After seeing the money handed out in this summer’s free agency, that is a steal for Robin Lopez.
Now let’s examine what the Knicks received and the Bulls gave up. The biggest piece in the entire trade was definitely Derrick Rose. As we all know, the former MVP, and youngest player to ever win an MVP, has struggled with injuries the past couple of years. In my opinion, what matters is last season, and last season Rose played in 66 games, averaging 16.4 points, 2.7 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 0.7 steals, 4.7 assists, and 3.4 rebounds a game. He only shot 29.3% from the three, and shot 42.7% from the field. Many Knicks fans, including myself, hope to see Rose’s stats improve this season, and it is possible if Rose is being honest when he says he feels 100% for the first time in a while. Rose’s strength when he was healthy was his athleticism and explosiveness, and if he is truly healthy, he should be able to utilize those strengths for the first time since his first terrible injury. Rose will be 28 years old throughout the season, so it would be foolish to assume he can never return to his MVP form. He is entering what should be his prime. Many people are making jokes about Rose not playing this season, assuming he will get injured, but these people are to blind to see the biggest upside of receiving Rose. He is on a contract year. If he does get injured, the Knicks don’t have to resign him this summer, clearing up $21.3 million in cap space, and can go after the multitude of stars who will be free agents next summer. If Rose is healthy the whole season and playing like his pre-injury self, the Knicks hit the Jackpot. Also, Rose being on a contract year is a huge motivation for him to have an amazing season, especially after seeing the money given out during this summer’s free agency, and Rose really has appeared to lack motivation since his first injury.
The Knicks also received Justin Holiday in this trade, which many people haven’t talked about. He was traded from the Hawks to the Bulls midway through the season, and was a role player on both teams. With the Bulls, he saw an increase in minutes, getting an average of 18.9 minutes a game. He also averaged 6.5 points, 1.0 turnovers, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.7 assists, and 2.3 rebounds a game. Holiday is a valuable role player as a three-point shooter, shooting 43.3% from the three with the Bulls. In his last game, he dropped 29 points in 37 minutes, and was 5-7 from the three. He also had 2 steals, a block, and 5 assists that game, but also 4 turnovers. Then again, they were playing the 76ers. Holiday may see some solid minutes this season, coming off the bench for Courtney Lee or Derrick Rose. I Predict around 20 minutes a game. Holiday is also on a contract year, only making $1 million this season, so he didn’t do any damage to the Knicks cap space. In fact, the Knicks cleared more cap space with this trade.
Last but not least, the Bulls gave up a 2017 second round pick. Most second round picks don’t turn out to be stars, but can definitely become valuable role players. The Knicks had no picks in this year’s draft, so receiving an extra one for next year will be helpful. It can also be used as a trade piece at the trade deadline this season. It is nice to see the Knicks receiving a pick rather than giving up one in a trade, which is unusual for them.
It can be argued that either side is the “winner” of this trade, but only time will truly tell. It mostly depends on how well each of the pieces play this year, especially Rose and Lopez, so let us sit back and watch how it unfolds this season.
