Derrick Rose’s Future With Knicks Uncertain

In the wake of Derrick Rose‘s mysterious absence from the Knicks’ Monday night game, the team confirmed that its point guard was fine, and head coach Jeff Hornacek said that he expected Rose to rejoin the team soon. Following the unusual incident, however, Rose’s future in New York is “increasingly uncertain,” reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

According to Wojnarowski, the Knicks had already been undecided about whether or not they wanted to invest in Rose beyond this season. After a Monday night that left the club “livid” and “embarrassed,” per Wojnarowski, the odds of the former MVP signing a long-term deal with the Knicks appear to have declined significantly, and even his short-term future with the franchise could be in doubt.

The relationship between Hornacek and Rose has become strained in recent weeks, according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Frank Isola of The New York Daily News echoes that sentiment, writing that reports of a frayed relationship between the two are accurate, particularly in the wake of a recent fourth-quarter benching for Rose. Sources tell Wojnarowski that the veteran point guard has been “privately critical” of the Knicks’ head coach, though no one in the locker room has expressed any issues with the way Hornacek has coached Rose.

Although a team source confirmed to Isola that Rose wasn’t injured or in danger when he missed Monday’s game, a source tells Fred Kerber and Marc Berman of The New York Post that the absence was “not a boycott.” Rose eventually informed team officials that he had a family situation and had returned to his hometown of Chicago, per Ian Begley and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

As we wait for the next development in the Rose story, here are a few more notes on the subject from some of the pieces linked above:

  • Rose may face discipline from the team, depending on the reason for his absence — a suspension is possible, Wojnarowski writes.
  • Before finding out where he was, the Knicks were concerned enough with Rose’s absence that they sent someone to his New York apartment to check on him, according to Begley.
  • A source tells Berman that Rose had a conversation with Knicks general manager Steve Mills late on Monday night.
  • Isola, who refers to Monday as the “rock bottom” point of the Phil Jackson era in New York, adds that landing a big free agent deal in 2017 has long been an “obsession” for Rose.
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