Rose hears ‘super’ talk about Knicks
Derrick Rose’s visions of Knicks grandeur grow by the day.
On Wednesday, Rose told Slam Magazine he thought the Knicks “have a chance to win every game, and in the league, that is rare.”
Very rare. In fact, the only team you could say that about with a straight face would be the Warriors, who won an NBA-record 73 games last season and added superstar Kevin Durant this offseason. Rose agrees. “I mean, with these teams right now, they’re saying us and Golden State are the super teams, and they’re trying not to build that many super teams, and Adam Silver came out with the statement and this and that,” Rose told NBA.com on Thursday. “And the expectations I think of us, we just want to win. Talking to Melo [Carmelo Anthony] and all the guys who’ve been around. You’ve got Brandon [Jennings] who just signed for one year, he’s got to show why he’s there. I’ve got to show why I’m there. Joakim [Noah] has to show why he’s there. Everybody’s trying to prove themselves.”
The Knicks have missed the playoffs for three straight years, but jumped to 32 wins last season from 17 in 2014-15. Now Knicks president Phil Jackson has revamped the roster for a second straight summer by trading for Rose and signing Noah, Jennings and Courtney Lee to add to Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.
“Everybody’s trying to prove themselves,” Rose said. “When you’ve got a group like that, it’s like, alright, I know everybody wants to [win], but we’re going to break this down as simple as possible and try to win every game. I think winning takes care of every category, as far as being an athlete. You look at endorsements, being on the floor, almost everything — I think winning takes care of all that. And if you’re in the league, winning takes care of all the mistakes, or if you have any problems on teams.”
Rose worked out with Porzingis, Jennings and Sasha Vujacic in Los Angeles earlier this month, and he has spoken with Anthony about getting together after Anthony’s Olympic run is over.