Some troubling news emerged prior to the New York Knicks game on Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Knicks point guard Derrick Rose was not present at the game, and Knicks officials were unable to contact the 28-year-old before tip-off.
Sources: At tip-off, Knicks still hadn’t been in contact with Derrick Rose. Unclear if they’ve reached him — or kept trying — during game.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 10, 2017
Following the game, teammate Joakim Noah said that he had contacted Rose and that Rose was safe and OK.
But at the end of the game, it appeared that Knicks officials still weren’t exactly sure what was going on with Rose.
“Everything will become clear later on,” Jeff Hornacek said to ESPN. “You know, we want to respect whatever he’s going through. We’re just not going to comment on it.”
“Right now we don’t have enough information to really give you anything,” Hornacek continued. “So that’s just going to have to wait until we hear something from Derrick himself.”
A little before midnight, Chris Mannix of The Vertical said that Rose had sent texts to his friends that he was all right, but that it was still unclear where exactly Rose was located.
Derrick Rose has sent text messages to friends reiterating that he is OK, league sources told @TheVertical. Still unclear where he is.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) January 10, 2017
A report by Chicago Tribune writer K.C. Johnson indicated that Rose is struggling with the separation with his son, Derrick Rose Jr.
Regarding Rose, told this isn’t all of it but that being away from his son more is weighing very heavily on him.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 10, 2017
After spending seven years playing for the Chicago Bulls in city in which he was born in, Rose was traded to the Knicks in June along with Justin Holiday and a second-round pick in exchange for Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant.
Rose’s son remained in Chicago while the 2011 MVP moved to New York.
This season, Rose is averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
The Knicks public relations department tweeted Tuesday that Rose returned to practice that morning and should play on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Rose was fined an undisclosed amount by the team.
Derrick Rose has rejoined the team and has been fined. He is expected to be in uniform tomorrow in Philadelphia.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) January 10, 2017
New York lost the game to the Pelicans, 110-96.
• Tommy Chalk can be reached at tchalk@washingtontimes.com.
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