Could Rose’s Off Court Drama Derail Knicks Debut?

Embattled Knicks fans rejoiced when 28-year-old point guard Derrick Rose signed with the team in the off-season. Shortly after making the pilgrimage to the Big Apple and injury-prone star became embroiled in an off-court drama, making him a public relations nightmare before the first jump ball. Rose’s 30-year-old on-and-of-again lover brought a $21.5 million federal lawsuit against the Knicks addition, accusing the Chicago native of rape. Rose testified in court earlier in October to the ire of basketball fans who were hopeful the addition of Rose and former teammate Joakim Noah would give their team a much needed boost on the offensive and defense end, now those close to the organization can’t help but be wary of the former number one draft pick’s courtroom two-step.

Rose told the press that he anticipated his former lover would bring a rape case against him, telling the New York Daily News, “Yes, it looked like a set up,” Rose said, “I knew something was up.” Now the Knicks doctor is concerned about his stress level as the team prepares to kick off their regular season tonight against the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Rose has spent the last two weeks going back and forth to Los Angeles courtroom while simultaneously looking to revitalize his tarnished image with millions of dollars at stake, “the doctors and everybody said they were watching me close, just knowing what I went through with the trial and everything. Hormones. Stress,” Rose said. (www.newyorkdailynews.com)

With the details of his sex life exposed and missing training camp, the Knicks organization was forced to field questions about their trade for the former Chicago Bulls player. “This, it’s safe to say, was not how Derrick Rose or the Knicks envisioned the preseason playing out, certainly not when just four months earlier Rose was ‘thanking’ the Bulls for granting him ‘another start’ by trading him to the Knicks,” Bleacher Report featured columnist Sharon Weitzman wrote. I have to agree with her, head coach Jeff Hornacek now has star player that is beleaguered by off-court drama; after missing training camp Rose is essentially going into the contest against LeBron James and company cold.

So what now? Well, if you’re Carmelo Anthony or Kristaps Porzingis you keep your new teammate at an arm’s length. It might sound harsh but Rose isn’t an unflawed flower, he’s a burden to the team’s already blemished image and could potentially continue to spiral downward in his deteriorating career; stay the course sans the dead weight.

#NBA #Knicks #ChelseaHarmon