Newly acquired New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose poses with his new #25 jersey during the Knicks introductory press conference. (Photo : Getty Images / Nathaniel S. Butler)
The new-look New York Knicks have undergone a lot of personnel changes over the course of the offseason. Newly-acquired starting point guard Derrick Rose, who came over via trade with the Chicago Bulls, made a bold proclamation by calling his new team a "superteam."
Rose, who will team up with former Bulls teammate Joakim Noah, former Memphis starting guard Courtney Lee and holdovers Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony in the new starting five for the incoming season, compared the current Knicks team to the Golden State Warriors. In an interview with Lang Whitaker on NBA.com, Rose talked about meeting the high expectations of the New York fans by declaring "us and Golden State are the super teams."
The comparison remains to be seen. The Warriors won the NBA title in 2015 came within one game of repeating the previous season. They also set an NBA record with 73 regular season wins this past year. In contrast, the Knicks finished with 32 wins last season, missing the playoffs. The Knicks surely improved their roster with their recent additions, along with new head coach Jeff Hornacek, but only the coming season will determine whether the comparison is justified or not.
Longtime Knicks star forward Anthony is more cautious about expectations for his team. While he acknowledged the roster shakeup and has the belief that they will qualify for the postseason, he made no guarantees and referred to the strength of their team "on paper," knowing that they have yet to play together as a group. In an interview with Newsday, Anthony called the current Knicks team a "very special team on paper" while saying that they still have to jell and build their team chemistry in order to produce a good on-court product. Anthony is currently training with Team USA.
While Anthony is fulfilling his Team USA responsibilities, Rose and some of the other new Knicks are already working out together in order to be familiar with each other on the basketball floor. Rose admitted that he is working out with Porzingis, newly signed Brandon Jennings and holdover Sasha Vujacic while focusing on his mid-range game. He has also spoken with Hornacek regarding their offensive philosophies especially the triangle offense.
