When the 3 p.m. EST deadline passed Thursday, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose remained Knicks, and will be in uniform Thursday against the Cavaliers.
Anthony was expected to stay despite more than five weeks of speculation and trade rumors involving the 10-time All-Star. But Rose's name was prominently mentioned in trade talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves for flashy Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio.
Ultimately, an agreement couldn't be reached so Rose will finish out the season in a Knicks uniform. He will be a free agent over the summer, and the fact that the Knicks were reportedly pushing so hard to move him indicates they probably aren't planning to re-sign him.
According to multiple reports, the Knicks wanted more than Rubio in return for Rose, a former NBA MVP. Power forward Nemanja Bjelica was reportedly on their radar.
Anthony is under contract for two more seasons and has a no-trade clause so he can veto any deals. In the days leading up to the trade deadline, he said he expected to be with the Knicks and that team officials hadn't approached him to say they had anything brewing.
But it's believed that the Cavaliers and Clippers could pursue Anthony this offseason, especially if neither hoists the NBA championship trophy in June.
Anthony, who has been reluctant to leave New York, may be more apt to go after he turns 33 and with the Knicks potentially looking at another rebuild around Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez.
Unless they surprise and make the playoffs, the Knicks will be in the draft lottery. They own their pick this year in what is expected to be a deep draft and point-guard heavy at the top, where five are projected to go in the top 10.
The Knicks need stability at that position. Rose and Brandon Jennings are both free agents after this season so it's possible neither will be back. New Orleans' Jrue Holiday will be a free agent and has been linked to the Knicks. But the Pelicans could pay him the most, and they need someone to throw the ball to Anthony Davis and newly acquired All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.
Rubio, 26, is a player the Knicks have coveted over the years. This season, Rubio is averaging 8.9 points, and his 8.4 assists per game rank fifth in the league. He's not a good shooter (38.6 percent), but Rubio is a far better distributor and a better defender than Rose.
At the Knicks' morning shootaround, Rose said he wasn't thinking about what it would be like if he reunited with his former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, and that his focus was on the game.
"I haven't had time to think about the opportunity of playing there," Rose said. "I'm here. We have a game today."
Rose has averaged 17.7 points and 4.5 assists in 48 games this season. When they acquired him from Chicago last June, the Knicks believed they landed a low-risk rental who would play all-out in a contract year and be that dynamic penetrating point guard they needed.
But Rose, who declared the Knicks "a super team" over the summer, missed most of the preseason and training camp because of his civil sexual assault trial in Los Angeles. It put Rose and the Knicks in a hole since the point guard wasn't up to speed on the offense and hadn't built chemistry with his teammates.
In December, while the Knicks were playing well, Rose talked openly about hoping to sign a long-term deal with them.
But that changed a month later when Rose left the Knicks without notifying them on a game day. He didn't return phone calls or texts as he flew home to Chicago for "a family issue."
The Knicks were in a freefall, and there were reports of Rose being unhappy with the offense and feuding with Jeff Hornacek. Both parties denied the latter.
Rose said he was neither surprised nor disappointed at how quickly things changed for him.
"No, this is my ninth year," he said. "I feel like no matter where I go, people will see my potential, I'm not worried about that. Just got to be in the right situation, the right system."
Rose will have to play in this one for 25 more games.
