Knicks' Derrick Rose tests negative, cleared to return to New York with team, source says
New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (4) talks with head coach Tom Thibodeau against the Detroit Pistons, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, in Detroit. Credit: AP/Carlos Osorio
Derrick Rose, after being forced to sit out Tuesday’s loss in San Antonio, was cleared to join the Knicks for the flight home to New York on Wednesday afternoon after multiple negative COVID-19 test results came back, according to a source.
The source said Rose’s COVID-19 test Tuesday was inconclusive, which caused him to miss the 119-93 loss to the Spurs due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. But Rose then had multiple negative test results and was cleared to fly home with the team. The Knicks have one more game ahead of the All-Star Break, on Thursday at Madison Square Garden against the Detroit Pistons.
While the Knicks have not had a player test positive for COVID-19 this season, this marked another hard truth the NBA is facing in trying to navigate its way through the pandemic. Rose was the second Knicks player to be sidelined, with Frank Ntilikina having to quarantine in a Miami hotel alone for a week last month due to contact tracing after he had close contact with a person who had tested positive.
While the Knicks could certainly gripe about losing Rose, who has quickly emerged as a key piece of the team and had started the prior three games, they are not alone and could point a finger at their own failings for their performance in the one-sided loss. The Spurs were missing three players who were still in Health and Safety Protocol and have already had four games postponed due to an inability to put eight healthy players on the court - including the only game the Knicks have had postponed.
The pandemic has left teams walking on eggshells, trying to follow the medical advice and NBA rules, but unable to game plan further than the current day. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau left AT&T Arena Tuesday night unsure of whether he would have Rose.
"Honestly, I don’t know for certain," Thibodeau said after the game of how long they could be without Rose. "We found out late. Obviously, it was after I had spoken with you guys [pregame] so it was sort of a last-minute thing. That’s where we are in the league right now with all the health and safety protocols. We’ll wait to hear and as soon as we hear we’ll update."
The multiple test results came in Wednesday which allowed him to rejoin the team in time for the flight home. He will be eligible to play Thursday against Detroit as long as he continues to test negative, like the rest of his teammates.
The NBA has postponed 31 games so far under its health and safety protocols. The Knicks (18-18) officially hit the halfway point in the 72-game season Tuesday night and would have been done until after the All-Star Break, but Thursday’s game against Detroit was moved to the schedule from the second half of the season.
Ntlikina got the start in Rose’s place in just his fourth game back in action after sitting out 29 games with a knee sprain, the quarantine period and coach’s decisions. He scored a season-high 13 points.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
