3 transaction targets to boost New Orleans Pelicans hopes for an eighth-seed run
By Willie Lutz
Derrick Rose, Guard, Detroit Pistons
Since the New Orleans Pelicans took a 103-105 home loss to the Detroit Pistons a little under a month ago on Dec. 9, the two have taken very different courses as far as it relates to their remainder-of-the-season outlook.
While the New Orleans Pelicans are questing for the playoffs and starting to get a cleaner bill of health, the Pistons are rumored to be interested in clearing their top few players in order to position themselves better for the future.
In all likelihood, the Pelicans will show no interest in either Andre Drummond or Blake Griffin but could express interest in the 31-year-old point guard and former MVP, Derrick Rose.
Playing in 31 games as a rotational point guard for Detroit, Rose is having himself a pretty good season even on a losing team. Rose averages 17.3 points, 5.7 assists, and posts a 55.7% true shooting percentage in 24.8 minutes per game.
Rose will be limited in the minute count, as the former MVP simply doesn’t have the legs to withstand high usage over the course of the season now in his age 31 season.
Perhaps Rose could be something of a mentor to Zion Williamson, as both were highly-touted top picks out of college, both going with the very first selection in their draft class.
Helping greatly over the last two seasons with young players on both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Pistons, Rose could be an affordable asset for this young New Orleans Pelicans roster.
Signed to an affordable two-year, $15 million deal this offseason, the Pelicans wouldn’t have a very hard of time bringing the guard into the fold and paying him through the end of the 2021 season, when like many others around the league, they’ll aim to be bigger players in free agency.