Two summers ago, the New York Knicks pulled off a surprising trade and landed former Kia MVP winner Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls. The pairing never seemed to fully mesh in New York, though, and while Rose had a solid season from a statistics perspective, the Knicks once again were one of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams.
* Recap: Nets 112, Cavaliers 107
Rose moved on to the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency this summer and he has suited up for just two of the team’s five games so far because of an ankle injury. Still, in a conversation with the New York Post‘s Alex Squadron, Rose says he’s loving the way the Cavs play:
“[With the Cavaliers], I get to do whatever I want,” Rose said, before his team’s 112-107 loss to the Nets on Wednesday night at Barclays Center, though he sat with a sprained left ankle. “In New York, I couldn’t. It was just simple. That’s why I made the transition.”
The former MVP was referring partially to the limitations of Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, which Rose criticized throughout his brief stint with the Knicks.
Under head coach Tyronn Lue, the Cavaliers’ system caters far better to Rose’s strengths.
“There wasn’t no freedom [with the Knicks],” Rose told The Post. “Here I got freedom.”
“Coach Lue and the team have been doing a great job of letting me play the way that I want to play. So I can’t complain at all.”
As an aggressive, offense-minded guard, Rose relishes the opportunity to get out on the break and attack the rim. Unsurprisingly, the Cavs’ up-tempo style appeals to him.
“That’s how I wanted to play last year,” Rose said. “But that never happened.”
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