Knicks Not Ruling Out Derrick Rose Extension

The Knicks have not yet approached Derrick Rose about a contract extension, but haven’t ruled out the possibility of discussing a deal later in the season, an NBA source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to Berman, the team wants to make sure Rose can stay healthy for a full season before committing to him for multiple years. As for the veteran point guard, it’s not clear if he’d accept an extension offer, but he sounds open to the idea.

“I haven’t talked to them about it,” Rose told Berman. “It’s been more about winning games. We’ll see. I’m more concerned with trying to win games, but it’s something I’d have to talk about with my family and team.”

Rose is one of about two dozen NBA veterans who is eligible to sign a contract extension during the 2016/17 season. For players who are no longer on their rookie contracts, extensions are rare, but if three years have passed since a player signed his current contract, he’s eligible for a new one. Rose, who is in the final year of his deal, signed it way back in December of 2011.

[RELATED: Players eligible for veteran contract extensions]

When I identified five veteran extension candidates to watch earlier this month, I made Rose one of my five picks, despite the fact that the Knicks are currently over the cap. The other four candidates I named are on clubs with cap space, which allows them to renegotiate a contract in addition to extending it, accommodating an immediate salary bump for the 2016/17 season. As a member of an over-the-cap team, Rose wouldn’t be eligible for such a pay bump, but because he’s already making over $21MM+ this year, the 28-year-old could get an extension starting at around $23MM, and worth up to about $75MM over three years.

As Berman observes, Rose would be eligible for a much larger deal if he waits until the summer of 2017 to sign, since his starting salary would be higher and he could sign for four or five years instead of just three. Still, the former MVP recently admitted that the days of “vintage” Rose are behind him, and it seems unlikely that any teams would be willing to make a long-term, maximum-salary investment in the current model. For his part, Rose says he wants to learn more about the specifics of an in-season extension vs. a free agent deal before he makes any decisions, according to Berman.

Having arrived in New York via an offseason trade with the Bulls, Rose has looked solid during his first 17 games with the Knicks, averaging 16.8 PPG and 4.9 APG, while shooting 43.8% from the floor.

View Comments (5)