KNICK KNOCK
Rose's agent says point guard wasn't interested in being mentor to Ntilikina
Kyrie Irving wants the Knicks. Derrick Rose did not.
The divorce was mutual when Rose accepted the Cavaliers’ veteran minimum for one year, $2.1 million last week.
The Knicks, who kept in contact with Rose until the end, never offered him the veteran’s minimum, according to an NBA source.
Knicks brass believes newly acquired veteran point guard Ramon Sessions will be better suited as a mentor to 19-year-old Frenchman Frank Ntilikina. The organization also believes Sessions might forge better chemistry with Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony — if Anthony is not traded.
In the end, Knicks president Steve Mills may have been tipped Rose had lost interest, too. Rose crossed the Knicks off his list after point-guard-of-the-future Ntilikina was drafted and almost all of their cap space was spent on Tim Hardaway Jr. — making a clear commitment to rebuild.
Rose doesn’t speak French and wanted no part of mentoring.
“Did we miss something?,’’ Rose’s agent B.J. Armstrong asked The Post. “Is there something going [on] in New York we didn’t see? We all would agree they are on a different timeline than Derrick — a young team with great young talent there and trying to build something for the future. They’re not on the same timeline as players who are a little older and experienced.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Derrick’s best basketball is right now. The Knicks aren’t ready to compete at that level right now. It could be three, four years.’’
Rose, coming off his fourth surgery after playing a productive 64 games, turns 29 on Oct. 4. While the Rose market waned significantly because of his latest surgery, Rose could have chosen another destination, one that paid more than the vet’s minimum. But the attacking point guard wanted to join a club that goes into next season as the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions.
“Derrick chose what he said he’d choose from the beginning. He didn’t deviate,’’ Armstrong said. “He said he just wanted to win. People didn’t believe it. He’s made a lot of money in his career. Now he just wants to win. The guy averaged 18 points a game in the triangle and we know how the game is played right now.”
The Knicks sought a mentor for Ntilikina and Rose found the idea uninspiring.
“You’re a mentor when you no longer can play,’’ Armstrong said. “This league you get paid to perform. You don’t get paid to be a mentor.
“That kid [Ntilikina] was drafted in [the] lottery. He’s got to play. One of the most coveted things in the NBA is experience. ... Let that kid play and make mistakes and see what you have in four, five years. Maybe the kid turns out to be Steph Curry.
“I wish it was different. Derrick loved New York. Loved it. Had no problems with any of the people there. But nobody’s getting younger and knows what their basketball will be like in the future.’’