He was as good as gone.
According to league sources, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks were a New York minute away from completing a deal that would have sent Malik Rose to the Big Apple and Kurt Thomas to the summers of South Texas. Before the league could give its approving nod on the swap, the Knicks pulled out -- catching a stunned and dismayed Spurs front office off guard.
Becoming a fan favorite, owning two championship rings and spending countless hours in the community spreading the organization's goodwill did nothing to sway the Spurs. If you are looking for loyalty in the business that is the National Basketball Association, your best bet is to look between the letters K and M in the dictionary.
But being counted out is nothing new for Rose. After San Antonio won their first title in 1999, the Spurs went out and signed Samaki Walker in the offseason to fill the role as the team's backup power forward. Although he played key minutes in the championship run, the front office thought that Rose was too small and too emotional to be the fulltime backup.
Undeterred, Rose got his job back quicker than Samaki's Suzuki motorcycle trying to evade police.
Forward to this past offseason after the Spurs' second championship. With David Robinson dropping anchor on his career, the Spurs went out and signed Rasho Nesterovic and Robert Horry. Although he played key minutes in the championship run, the front office thought that Rose was too small and too emotional to be the fulltime backup -- stop me if you've heard this before.
Spending much of the early season riding the pine, Rose and Gregg Popovich clashed publicly and behind closed doors. Popovich thought that Rose wasn't listening to coaching. Rose thought that Popovich didn't respect his play.
Rose's minutes have finally begun to blossom over the last month, where he has
averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. When Tim Duncan was sidelined with a leg injury, Rose stepped into the starting five and helped keep the boat afloat. As the Spurs head into the playoffs, Rose has again re-emerged as a key component off the bench.
So where did it all go wrong? Why did the Spurs try so hard to trade him?
It boils down to the Popovich-Rose love-hate relationship. Sprinkle in some inconsistent playing time, add a dash of inconsistent play and mix it with a handful of salary cap considerations, and you have the recipe for the angst.
But what both sides seem to forget is that -- like the barnacle and the whale -- they're at their best when together. For as much talent as is on the roster that Popovich and the Spurs have assembled, toughness will always be a question.
With a corps of passive players such as Duncan, Nesterovic and Hedo Turkoglu, the team needs a player who is unafraid and willing to put his body on the line. Enter Malik Rose.
Rose is a talented player but also a very emotional one. If kept unrestrained, he is prone to taking himself out of the game mentally. He often loses his concentration, caring more about the referees than focusing on the game. Rose needs someone that will keep him walking a straight line. Enter Gregg Popovich.
The Spurs are poised to make another run deep into the playoffs. Rose will be a vital component, supplying a ferocious will to win off the bench.
When this season's trek has ended, whether they've won it all or they've won nothing, the Spurs will see Rose as they've seen him twice before. And when the expansion draft for the Charlotte Bobcats comes around, the Spurs will undoubtedly leave Rose unprotected. Not only that, they will try to entice Charlotte into selecting him by offering draft picks, cash and whatever else the league allows.
The Bobcats won't select him, theorizing that his contract would eat up too much of their limited caproom.
So again, the Spurs will be stuck with their power forward who is too small and too emotional. Rose will be stuck on a team that doesn't want him.
Stuck in the perfect symbiotic relationship.
