Derrick Rose Didn't Want To Mentor Knicks Draft Pick Frank Ntilikina
Derrick Rose lost interest in re-signing with the New York Knicks and may not have wanted to serve as a mentor to 19-year-old French guard Frank Ntilikina, agent B.J. Armstrong told the New York Post.
“Did we miss something?,” Armstrong told the Post. “Is there something going [on] in New York we didn’t see? We all would agree they are on a different timeline than Derrick — a young team with great young talent there and trying to build something for the future. They’re not on the same timeline as players who are a little older and experienced."
“You’re a mentor when you no longer can play,” he added. “This league you get paid to perform. You don’t get paid to be a mentor."
New York never offered the veteran's minimum to try and get Rose to return. Rose signed with the Cavaliers for the veteran minimum for one year, $2.1 million last week. Once he decided to leave for Cleveland, the Knicks signed Ramon Sessions to the veteran's minimum to mentor Ntilikina.
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Rose is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds.
