Derrick Rose’s value may go beyond what he can produce on the ground for the Knicks. Only his presence could help land his priority in free agency.
The veteran guard is another link between the Knicks and the coveted baseman Jalen Brunson, his bond dates back to Brunson’s formative years in Illinois, when Rose was the Bulls’ star base and Brunson had dreams of playing in the NBA some day.
“Jalen would go to the Bulls facility and practice with the Bulls players,” Pat Ambrose, Brunson coach at Adlai Stevenson High School who stays near him, told The Post in a telephone interview. “That’s where he became good friends with Derrick Rose. So your story goes deep with the Knicks. Derrick saw that young Jalen was a very, very good player and Derrick was a Chicago kid, and really he started mentoring Jalen when it came to basketball. “
At the time, Brunson’s father, Rick, was an assistant on coach Tom Thibodeau’s team, the same role he now has with the Knicks. It’s another layer, in addition to Brunson’s relationship with Thibodeau, President Leon Rose, and executive William Wesley, in addition to the fact that Rose’s son, Sam, is Brunson’s agent, who can work in his favor. of the Knicks as they seek to get the talented. 25-year-old coming out of a year of career.
Jalen Brunson and Derrick RoseGetty Images; AP
They began creating a salary cap space Thursday to pay a lot of money to Brunson, swapping the first round and handing out Kemba Walker to the Pistons, creating what is now $ 18 million. There is still work to be done, with Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel potentially moved, so the Knicks can make the former Villanova star an attractive offer. Brunson grew up in southern New Jersey before moving to Lincolnshire, Illinois, for high school and still has roots in the area, with a home on the Jersey shore. Her mother, Sandra, is a big fan of Giants football.
“I’m sure Leon Rose will play all these draws,” Ambrose said. “I wouldn’t be surprised [if he wound up with the Knicks]. … The good thing for the Knicks is that he chose to come home once [for college] and there was success. Maybe he decides to go home again.
The coach later added, “He likes Dallas, I know he likes Dallas. But he’s a [New] Jersey / New York Boy “.
Brunson’s priority remains to be seen. When choosing a university, he opted for Villanova instead of Michigan State and Illinois for multiple reasons, according to Ambrose. As his coach said, Brunson liked the idea of going back to the Northeast and joining a winning program. It didn’t bother him that, as a McDonald’s all-American, he would initially sit on Ryan Arcidiacono and not have the ball in his hands from the jump, as he would have done in other schools. This altruism could work against the Knicks, as they will sell the double national champion with the opportunity to play a more important role.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are in a much better place as a franchise after reaching the Western Conference Finals with Brunson playing a major role, albeit as a Luka Doncic winger.
“Being the man I wouldn’t say would be best for him,” Ambrose said. “Putting the ball in his hands, any NBA player wants it, but he wants to win. I know winning is important to him and I know that something he is really proud of is causing victories and winning. That is always their focus. “
Obviously, there is a lot of uncertainty a week before the start of the free agency period. The Knicks still need to clean up more space for the lid. While Ambrose said he wouldn’t be surprised if Brunson ends up with a Knicks, his former star player also enjoys playing for the Mavericks, who can offer him five years compared to the Knicks’ four. In Dallas, the former second-round pick has become a strong NBA player and is emerging from a long series of playoffs in which he was a bit of a standout star, averaging 21.6 points per match.
It is also unclear how much money the Mavericks are willing to pay to keep Brunson, if they would go to the extra yard as the Knicks seem willing to do.
“Not so much the money talking, but how much more money?” Ambrose wondered. “If Dallas insults him slightly with a low ball offer and New York proves he really wants it, that could change things.
“He’s also a young man who knows he can help build a winner, he can work on that, and the future in the NBA can be pretty fleeting, whether it’s an injury or drafts and things like that. Obviously he knows Tom very well. Thibodeau and he knows this guy knows how to create winners. “
The Knicks have added a second player with an Exhibit 10 contract to striker Garrison Brooks. The 6-foot, 9-foot Brooks passed last year in Mississippi State, averaging 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and shooting 34.2 percent from a distance of 3 yards. points. He previously attended North Carolina.
On Thursday night, the Knicks signed guard Jean Montero for an Exhibit 10 deal. The 6-foot 2 Montero comes from the new high school league, Overtime Elite, which pays players. An Exhibit 10 contract includes an invitation to the training camp and the summer league.