Knicks’ Rose trying to catch up
Crash course ahead for guard who missed most of preseason
The New York Knicks took the floor for the final time in preseason Thursday night, one last time without Derrick Rose. So after the final 48- minute exhibition test, the real work was about to begin.
Rose flew back from Los Angeles but did not come across the river to Barclays Center in Brooklyn with the team. Instead the team planned to have him undergo a crash course in all that he missed during his two- week absence to attend the civil trial against him.
Rose won the civil trial, the jury ruling in his favor Wednesday and clearing him of all charges of sexual assault. But winning remains a hard way to describe what he went through.
Much of the case, a Jane Doe accuser seeking a $ 21.5 million award, was a hesaid, she- said affair with no dispute over whether he and two friends had gone to her apartment and had sex with her. But in a courtroom, in newspapers and on television, the salacious details were opened up for all to see.
Now that the trial is over, the next step is cleaning up the fallout. Rose missed more than two weeks of practice and games, leaving the Knicks after one practice and one preseason game after the four- day minicamp. How far that sets back the team won’t be known until he gets on the floor and makes what will be his debut on opening night Tuesday at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I haven’t gotten a hold of him,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We’ve texted. I’m going to try to meet with him ( Friday), just kind of show him some things on film, and we’ll practice on Saturday.
“I’ll probably just sit with him and go over some things. I’ll probably overload him with a lot of information, and then when he comes in the next day he’ll try to learn by fire. We’ll get him in early, probably, and run him through some stuff with some of the guys. But I want to talk to him a bit with that stuff and maybe take him out on the court and at least show him some different things. He got some of it at least in training camp. So some of it will be a review, but we’ll start to show him the new things.”
The complications are many for the Knicks with Hornacek taking over the team and installing his version of the offense and defense. The Knicks did not have one minute in the preseason with the entire starting five they anticipated when rebuilding the roster.
“We hope it comes together well,” Hornacek said. “He’s a veteran player. He’s played with ( Joakim Noah) before. Obviously him and Jo and Justin ( Holiday) were teammates in Chicago, so they have that familiarity.
“He’s probably played in All- Star Games with Carmelo ( Anthony). So he has that, and we have training camp. It’s not like we just traded for him yesterday and he’s got to come in there and pick it up. He has a little background with these guys. So hopefully it doesn’t take too long.”
Hornacek said that early in the season the Knicks might rely more on the pick and roll offense that Rose is familiar with — something he wants to use at times anyway.
Off the court, most important to Rose was getting his name back. He insisted repeatedly that he would not settle the case because he believed he was completely innocent. He got that and kept his money. Adidas, his main sponsor, issued a statement shortly after the trial concluded, announcing, “Our partnership with Derrick remains unchanged.” He will surely hear some catcalls in opposing arenas.
“It’s a blessing to have him come back,” Noah told reporters Wednesday. “I don’t even know what to say. It’s great that the truth came out. But at the same time we didn’t have our point guard for all of preseason. ...
“That’s not an easy situation for anybody. ( Rose) is a tough kid. But it’s definitely a distraction. He’s not here,” Noah said. “It’s a distraction not just for him but the whole team. But it’s not his fault. It’s just some girl who went out of her way to make money off of him.”