Jalen Rose on the bubble in New York

[spurssheriff]

Isiah Thomas last night began auditions at starting small forward to replace Jared Jeffries, who is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks with a fractured wrist. It seems to be an open competition, except for veteran Jalen Rose, who was given what appears to be a token start there in the Knicks' 116-108 preseason win over the Celtics at Madison Square Garden last night.

Thomas suggested before the game that Rose, 31, might not have enough left in his tank to fill the role, especially on defense. "We pretty much know who he is and what he's got," Thomas said of a player former coach Larry Brown lobbied to acquire last season. "There might not be a lot of run left in that body, so we may need to conserve some of that run."

Thomas has gone out of his way to show respect to Rose, who is in his 12th NBA season. He pulled him out of Saturday's game in Philadelphia because it was laden with subs and rookies. He started him last night, but Rose played only 5:15 of the first half and a total of 14:01 in the game. Rose was scoreless with four rebounds.

He is in the final year of his contract and, if he asks the Knicks to buy out his $16.9-million salary, Rose could try to find another team that could use his services. Or he could wind up waving towels on the Knicks' bench for the rest of the season.

"On the [defensive] end," Thomas said, "he will have some deficiencies."

http://www.newsday.com/sports/printe...y-sports-print

The Rose situation is curious. He was acquired from Toronto in February, but Thomas has made it clear that the trade was made at the behest of Larry Brown, the former coach. Thomas insists that the team has no intention of trading Rose.

But it is hard to see where Rose fits in on a team that is stressing youth and athleticism over experience. After the Knicks improved to 3-0 last night, Thomas gushed about the energy that Richardson and the rookie Renaldo Balkman brought to the game. He praised Rose for not demanding more shots.

Now in his 13th season, Rose said he did not need much work before opening night.

“It’s about the team,” Rose said. “It’s not about Jalen at this point. When you’re a veteran, it’s about health. And we’re undefeated in the preseason. Lets talk about that.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/sp...IX2hE+LEA2UrlQ

[We are 138]

I can't believe he's only 31. He looks shot.

[chucknspur]

Since Rose has a HUUUUUGE contract that is expiring this year, I virtually guarantee that Isiah will trade him for some ridiculous contract that has another five years left on it. The leopard can't change his spots. Who are the nominees for the Jalen Rose salary dump?

[coyotes_geek]

Baron Davis.....because two overpaid, underachieving, overrated, ball hogging point guards just aren't enough. Picking up Davis would complete the holy trinity of that group.

[SupermanThree]

.

[my2sons]

hmmmm....being so adamant that coach brown requested they trade for rose leads me to believe that isiah must have pulled the trigger himself. anyway if he dissliked rose so much, he was the gm he should never had brought him over. it was a salary dump

[We are 138]

Who was Rose traded for? I forget.

[Twilite Kid]

I was at a club this past september when i look over to my right and who do I see standing next to me? Jalen Rose... downing a few jaeger bombs with some friends. I guess he was getting ready for training camp.