The early word out of New York, is that Derrick Rose’s unexplained absence Monday night from a demoralizing 110-96 loss to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans was “not a boycott.”
Rose reportedly flew home to Chicago due to some kind of family issue.
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
The 28-year-old will be a free agent next summer, and his future in a Knicks uniform is very much in doubt.
Knicks were so concerned about Derrick Rose's whereabouts that they sent someone to his NYC apartment, per sources: https://t.co/d8HB0V53Kg
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 10, 2017
Per ESPN:
Rose missed Monday night’s loss to the Pelicans, and the Knicks had grown concerned enough earlier to check on him at his apartment, sources said.
Publicly, the reasons remained a mystery after the game, with coach Jeff Hornacek saying “everything will become clear later on” and teammate Joakim Noah saying Rose was OK. […] “I mean, I don’t really want to talk too much about it because I don’t really know what the situation is,” said Noah, who has played with Rose since 2008 as his teammate in Chicago before coming to New York along with Rose prior to this season. “Obviously Derrick is one of our better players. And when he is not here it is tough. But I am just happy that everything is OK with him.”
When asked if Rose’s health is OK in light of his absence, Noah replied, “Yeah. He’s OK … I think it’s a relief for all of us.”
