National Basketball Association

New York Knicks: Jerry Reinsdorf Explains Derrick Rose Trade

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The New York Knicks landed two former Chicago Bulls players this past summer: Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Why did Jerry Reinsdorf let them walk?

The New York Knicks are providing two of the most accomplished players of this era with a shot at redemption. Success is far from guaranteed, but New York has enough talent to enable the resurgence of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah as a dynamic duo.

The question that many have pondered, however, is why exactly did the Chicago Bulls let Rose and Noah go?

Chicago traded Rose and Justin Holiday to the Knicks in exchange for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon, and a second-round draft pick. The Bulls also let Noah walk in free agency, which Phil Jackson capitalized on.

According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, Reinsdorf simply felt that it was time to move on from the previous generation of Bulls players.

“What we felt was it was time,” Reinsdorf said of Rose’s trade. “We felt Joakim wasn’t going to be a frontline guy anymore. I was pretty confident that Pau (Gasol) was going to leave. So it was important for us to get the center in (Robin) Lopez. It was time for Derrick to go on and play someplace else and try to establish himself. Gar and Pax were high on the Grant kid (Jerian). We thought that was the necessary first step no matter how we were going to go.”

The Knicks are hoping to help Noah and Rose exact a measure of retribution in 2016-17.

Noah played nine emotional and inspiring seasons with the Bulls. Chicago drafted him at No. 9 overall in the 2007 NBA Draft after watching Noah lead the Florida Gators to back-to-back national championships.

Noah proceeded to become the 2014 Defensive Player of the Year, an All-NBA First Team honoree, a two-time All-Star, and a three-time All-Defensive Team selection.

Noah will now anchor the Knicks’ defensive interior alongside Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony.

Rose, a Chicago native, was drafted at No. 1 overall by the Bulls in the 2008 NBA Draft. He played seven seasons in eight years, winning the NBA MVP award in 2011, Rookie of the Year in 2009, and making three All-Star Game appearances.

Like Noah, however, Rose’s injuries caught up to him and Chicago decided to part ways with the franchise cornerstones.

In New York, Noah and Rose will have an opportunity to prove the critics wrong and reestablish themselves as premier players.

At the very least, they’ll have a shot at returning to the postseason.