Rose's agent: 'He wants to be in New York'

It's been a tumultuous first season in New York for Derrick Rose.

It began under the cloud of a civil sexual assault trial, and with delusions of superteam grandeur. It saw Rose struggle badly out of the gate, and it saw him confound and frighten his team with an unexcused and unexplained absence from a game in January. Most recently, it saw him shopped at the trade deadline.

For all that, Rose would prefer to remain a Knick when he hits free agency this summer, according to his agent, B.J. Armstrong.

"Like I've said all along, and like he's said all along, you know what, he wants to be in New York. He feels comfortable there," Armstrong said on Sirius XM NBA radio on Saturday, as transcribed by ESPN's Ian Begley. "But we understand the business."

Rose recently said that he is no longer motivated by the prospect of earning a big contract, and is focused on basketball-specific goals. He said Friday that he had "no grudges and no hard feelings" toward the Knicks for including him in trade talks, and Armstrong insists that he and his client view the deadline-day buzz as a positive.

"It was an opportunity to see what his value truly was throughout the league," Armstrong said Saturday. "So as you can see, through all the reports, there were teams that were interested in him and what he does and what he brings to the court. ...

"When no one is calling for you (prior to the trade deadline) is when you're in trouble."

The Knicks were reportedly engaged in talks with the Timberwolves on a trade that would've sent Rose to Minnesota - reuniting him with former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau - in exchange for Ricky Rubio. The deal fell through in the end, reportedly because the Wolves balked, and Rose stayed put.

The former league MVP is averaging 17.6 points and 4.5 assists per game this season, posting his best PER (16.2) and true shooting percentage (51.7) since 2011-12, the year he first tore his ACL. And perhaps the most notable thing about his season has been his health, which has him on track to cross the 70-game threshold for the first time since his MVP season in 2010-11.

"I wasn't surprised that he wasn't traded," Armstrong said. "Derrick is putting together, game by game, coming back and really beginning to play at a consistent level to where he's at and what he's going to be at this stage of his career. So I think there was a lot of rumors, his name was out there. But in the end, I think the Knicks did what they thought was in their best interests."