The Chicago Bulls entered the offseason ready to start a new era and move on from Derrick Rose, now that new era will begin after they agreed to trade Rose to the New York Knicks. The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news, less than an hour after reporting the Jeff Teague three-team trade, and the #Wojbombs have begun to fall. The Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson reported the full details of the trade.
Rose, 27, is set to make $21.32 million next season in the final year of his mega deal he signed in 2011. After he played in just 49 games between 2011-2013, Rose has played 50-plus games each of the past two seasons. He started 66 games last season, but did not look like the same player after multiple knee injuries. He averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game last season.
The situation in New York for Rose will be a bit different than what he saw in Chicago. He will be playing in the biggest sports media market and will not have the ball in his hands as much as he is used to with Carmelo Anthony being the primary ball handler. He will add to the Knicks core of Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, with an opening at center that will likely lead the Knicks to pursuing Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol. It is a clear upgrade at point guard for New York, but questions still remain about just how healthy Rose can be.
Chicago takes a big step toward restructuring its roster and pushing towards a youth movement. The addition of Robin Lopez, improves a frontcourt that will lose Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah to free agency. The 28-year-old Lopez averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game last season. Lopez will enter the second year of a four-year contract that will pay him $13.2 million in 2016, $13.8 million in 2017 and $14.4 million in 2018, a very reasonable contract for a starting center with the NBA's salary cap skyrocketing over the next three years.
Chicago will also receive Jerian Grant, the 19th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. The 23-year-old Grant averaged 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season in under 17 minutes per game. While his shooting needs to improve, he should have an opportunity to compete for Chicago's starting point guard gig against Spencer Dinwiddle and Jose Calderon, who Chicago also acquired in the trade. But as of now, the immediate fantasy value is limited. Of course, this all could change if the Bulls acquire another point guard over the next few months.