NEW YORK, June 22, 2016 – New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has acquired three-time NBA All-Star and 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls. As part of the deal, the Knicks have also acquired guard Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round draft selection in exchange for guards Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant and center Robin Lopez. In addition, the Knicks have waived guard Tony Wroten.
“This is an exciting day for New York and our fans,” Knicks Head Coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Derrick is one of the top point guards in the NBA who is playoff-battle-tested. He adds a whole new dynamic to our roster and immediately elevates our backcourt.”
Rose, 6-3, 190-pounds, finished his seventh season with the Bulls in 2015-16 to average 16.4 points, 4.7 assists and 31.8 minutes over 66 games played. Considered one of the premier point guards in the NBA, the 27-year-old Chicago-native has averaged 19.7 points and 6.2 assists over 406 career games. The first-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft has been highly decorated over the course of his career: 2011 NBA MVP, 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year, three consecutive NBA All-Star selections (2010, 2011, 2012), 2009 NBA All-Rookie Team, two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Month, five-time Eastern Conference Player of the Week and three-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.
Rose left the University of Memphis after his freshman year in 2008 and led the Bulls to the NBA Playoffs in his first season, and to the post-season five out of his seven seasons overall. He leaves Chicago as the franchise’s 10th all-time leading scorer (8,001 points), seventh in scoring average (19.7), fifth in assists (2,516) and ninth in three-point field goals (350). In 41 career playoff games, Rose averaged 23.7 points and 7.1 assists, while advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011. Although Rose had been extremely durable in his first three seasons in the NBA, playing 240 out of a possible 246 games, injury had limited him to just 100 games out of a possible 312 over the following four seasons, before appearing in over 80-percent of the games last season.
Holiday, 6-6, 185-pounds, averaged 4.5 points in 53 games for the Atlanta Hawks and Bulls last season. Undrafted out of the University of Washington, the Mission Hills, CA-native has also played for Philadelphia and Golden State since 2012-13 and has averaged 4.4 points and 13.0 minutes over 121 career games.
Lopez, 7-0, 265-pounds, started all 82 games for the Knicks last season after signing with the team on Jul. 9, 2015. He averaged 10.3 points, on 53.9-percent shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 1.57 blocks over 27.1 minutes. He holds career averages of 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds over 22.1 minutes over eight seasons with Phoenix, New Orleans, Portland and New York.
Calderon, 6-3, 200-pounds, averaged 7.6 points, on 45.9-percent shooting, and 4.1 assists over 28.1 minutes in 72 games (all starts) during his second season with New York. He was originally acquired from Dallas on Jun. 25, 2014 and holds career averages of 9.9 points, 6.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 748 games over 11 seasons with Toronto, Detroit, Dallas and New York.
Grant, 6-4, 195-pounds, completed his rookie season for the Knicks with averages of 5.6 points and 2.3 assists over 16.6 minutes in 76 games after being selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 19th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and then, had his draft rights traded to New York in exchange for Tim Hardaway Jr.