Coming into the 2021-22 NBA season there weren’t many expectations for the Toronto Raptors. Many people thought that they would consider a rebuild and contemplate trading away players such as Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet to facilitate it. Projected to finish in the lottery, the team was at a crossroads after franchise icon Kyle Lowry departed in free agency.
The Toronto Raptors decided to stay the course and it proved to be the right decision. They shocked a lot of people, finishing in the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 48-34 after going 27-45 last season.
The turnaround came out of nowhere but speaks volumes to the job that Nick Nurse does on the sideline and Masai Ujiri does in the front office building the roster. They are in lockstep and the results are evident with how well things went on the court this season.
This offseason will present a chance to the team to further upgrade the roster and push closer to the upper echelon teams in the Eastern Conference. Adding some more seasoned veterans to a relatively young roster would make sense. Could Derrick Rose of the New York Knicks make sense as a target?
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Best Potential Trade Destinations For Derrick Rose
Prying Rose away from head coach Tom Thibodeau will not be an easy task as Thibodeau loves having the former MVP. The New York Knicks are the third team that he has coached which Rose played for, starting with the Chicago Bulls before reuniting with the Minnesota Timberwolves and now Knicks.
However, Rose is one of the veterans that could be on the move from New York this offseason. They fell short of expectations and should be embracing somewhat of a youth movement in the Big Apple. Immanuel Quickley showed that he is ready for a bigger role and one way to ensure that he has one is by trading Rose.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Best Potential Trade Destinations For Derrick Rose
Should he be made available, Rose will have a healthy market. His health remains a concern, as he played in only 26 games. The 2016-17 season is the last time that Rose played in more than 51 games in a season, so you need contingency plans when he is in your rotation. But, he has shown with the New York Knicks he can still produce when called upon.
In his second stint in the Big Apple, Rose has drastically improved his 3-point shooting, putting up career percentages from behind the arc. He remains a great playmaker and while he doesn’t possess the same explosiveness that he once did, Rose can still get to the basket with ease and finish around the rim.
Toronto could use a scoring punch like that off their bench, especially in the backcourt. Malachi Flynn was playing reserve minutes behind VanVleet and rookie Scottie Barnes has been the lead playmaker at times, but there is certainly a need for a backup point guard.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Best Potential Trade Destinations For Derrick Rose
That is a role that Rose has accepted in recent years and thrived in. There is no reason to think he can’t continue doing it north of the border for the Toronto Raptors, who would benefit from having that kind of playoff experience on their roster.
