Knicks Get Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose In Trade With Pistons

NEW YORK, NY — The New York Knicks unlikely push for the playoffs in the 2020-2021 NBA season could get a boost from a former Most Valuable Player. The Knicks have traded Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second-round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Derrick Rose, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Rose, the NBA MVP in 2011 when he was with the Chicago Bulls, played in 64 games for the Knicks during the 2016-2017 season. He has since spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Pistons.

In 15 games with the Pistons this season, Rose has averaged 14.2 points per game, according to statistics tracked by BasketballReference.com. He will now be reunited with Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, Rose's coach with the Bulls when he won the 2011 MVP.

The second-round pick the Knicks are giving up is the one they acquired from the Charlotte Hornets, ESPN reported.

Periodic talks between the Knicks and Pistons over a Rose return to New York have gone on for the last few months, according to the network.

Although predicted by experts before the season began to again be one of the NBA's worst teams, the Knicks have posted an 11-14 record as of Sunday and are currently in the No. 7 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks have not made the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season.