The New York Knicks have acquired guard Derrick Rose in a trade with the Detroit Pistons for guard Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second round draft pick (via Charlotte).
Rose, 6-3, 200-pounds, has appeared in 611 NBA games (504 starts) recording 18.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds over 12 seasons with Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minnesota and Detroit. In 15 games with Detroit this season, he is averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds over 22.8 minutes.
The Chicago-native returns to New York, where he previously spent one season with the Knicks, after being acquired from Chicago via trade on Jun. 22, 2016. He averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds over 32.5 minutes in 64 games (all starts) as a Knick.
Career highlights for the first-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft include: 2011 NBA MVP; 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year; three consecutive NBA All-Star selections (2010, 2011, 2012); 2009 NBA All-Rookie Team; two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Month; five-time Eastern Conference Player of the Week and three-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.
Smith Jr., 6-2, 205, was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and went to New York as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade on January 31, 2019. In 159 career games (122 starts), the 23-year-old has averaged 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals with Dallas and New York. In his rookie season, he averaged a career-high 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2017-18. He was also selected to play in the 2018 Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, CA.
“We welcome Dennis Smith Jr. to the Pistons family. Adding another young player who was a high draft pick alongside a draft asset advances our goals in building for the future,” said Troy Weaver, Detroit Pistons General Manager. “We thank Derrick Rose for his contributions on and off the court during his time as a Piston and wish him and his family well as they move forward.”
A native of Fayetteville, NC, Smith Jr. played one collegiate season at North Carolina State University where he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after averaging a school-freshman record 18.1 points and 6.2 assists per game. He also garnered All -ACC Second Team honors.
