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Derrick Rose was fined by the Knicks for what amounts to an unexcused absence. What do you make of this whole ordeal? And what does it say about the state of the Knicks today?
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David Aldridge: It’s a puzzlement, and they don’t deal with puzzlements well in Gotham. Rose had to know that this would have been a total non-story if he’d just texted any of either team president Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills or coach Jeff Hornacek to let them know he needed the night off. So why wouldn’t he? That’s what’s concerns me; he was indifferent to the fallout that he knew would be coming, not to mention the likely damage to his income-earning potential next summer. Does he not care if he’s not playing anymore? I’m not saying that’s the case, but that’s what you allow people to speculate about by doing stuff like this. I don’t think it means much to the Knicks because I don’t think Rose is going to be there next year, and I didn’t think that before all this happened.
Steve Aschburner: I’m not quite sure of the word, but it’s very Knicksy or Knicksish or Knicksian. Take your pick. If I’m Jeff Hornacek, I tell Phil Jackson that Rose or any other player needs to be suspended for twice as many games as he misses when going AWOL. Just as standard club policy, without pay for the whole bunch. If Jackson doesn’t concur, I sit Rose for two games in the wake of his one-game hiatus. Any self-respecting coach should, because the price paid in losing (if that happened) would be less than the price paid over the long haul from continued dysfunction. Rose — whatever his reason for disappearing, however personally troubling — behaved childishly by not taking 20 seconds to call or text Hornacek, Jackson or some other Knicks authority. I think he has been overserved a lot of “do what’s right for Derrick” advice since his career-altering knee injury in April 2012 and this is the latest manifestation. That stuff held the Chicago Bulls hostage for a few years and the Knicks must not enable it.
Fran Blinebury: No matter what the family emergency, who wouldn’t pick up the phone and call their employer? Lack of professionalism and responsibility makes for bad leadership. Especially for the guy who was crowing about New York being among the super teams a few months ago. But it fits with the Knicks, who are just a bad team.
Scott Howard-Cooper: The most important thing is that he is safe and his family is safe. When someone suddenly disappears like that, it’s natural for people to think worst-case scenarios, and thankfully none of them appear to have happened. So this conversation is in basketball terms. In that context, what he did was deserving of a suspension and the loss of real money, not simply a fine. Alert the team. If you don’t think you have the time during a crisis, have someone you are talking with alert the team. Have someone call your agent and have the agent alert the team. He had 30 seconds somewhere in there to text his agent, “Family emergency. Can’t get into it now. Tell Phil I will not be at the game and will be in contact tomorrow.” What does it say about the state of the Knicks today? Nothing we didn’t already know. The key read is how hard they try to keep him in free agency after this.
Shaun Powell: This was bizarre, which means, this was Knicks-like. You mean in this age of rapid communication Rose couldn’t send a text to the front office or have someone else do it? There’s more to this than meets the eye, or maybe Rose’s judgment is that screwed up. Either way, this won’t reflect well on him next summer in free agency. He and Joakim Noah need to have strong second halves or Phil Jackson’s big offseason moves from last summer will amount to very little.
John Schuhmann: No matter how serious the family issue was, there’s no excuse for Rose not taking the 10 seconds needed to send a text to his coach. Failing to do was a show of disrespect for Jeff Hornacek, for the organization, and for his teammates. His actions say a lot about him. The Knicks’ reaction – not a peep from Phil Jackson, no suspension for Rose – says a lot about the state of the Knicks. So far, they’ve handled the situation almost as poorly as he has.
Sekou Smith: It was certainly a strange ordeal, Rose disappearing after a morning shootaround the way he did without any word to teammates or team officials. The fine works for me. And the need to be with family at a time of need trumps everything, even a Monday night home game at the Garden. But there is a way to do it and a way not to do it. And Rose went about this terribly. He put his teammates, coaches and the organization in a horrible position as the rest of the public speculated as to his whereabouts. The Knicks are struggling mightily right now, on the court and beyond. This Rose affair only reveres to emphasize that fact.
Ian Thomsen: If there was no valid reason for Rose’s behavior, then it is a dangerous sign that the Knicks have not commanded his respect. Too much is unknown about this situation, but here’s one thing that can be said: It has been an awfully long time since the Knicks franchise was held in high esteem, and this latest incident fits into that mosaic of dysfunctionality.
Lang Whitaker: To me this whole saga says more about the state of Derrick Rose than it does about the Knicks. I mean, I’m not sure there’s any franchise prepared for their point guard just not showing up an hour before a game starts. Clearly, we still don’t know all the details, and there may be extenuating circumstances that totally warranted Rose’s reaction. But from what we do understand, it would seem that Rose could/should have gotten word to someone that he was not available to play on Monday night.
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