Bulls send Derrick Rose to Knicks in multiplayer swap

Marc SteinIan Begley
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The Knicks have acquired former All-Star point guard Derrick Rose from the Bulls, the teams announced Wednesday.

The Knicks trade center Robin Lopez, guard Jose Calderon and guard Jerian Grant to Chicago, which shipped guard Justin Holiday, Rose and a 2017 second-round pick back to New York.

A source close to Rose said the Chicago native was very emotional about leaving his hometown team, which drafted him No. 1 overall out of Memphis in 2008, because of all his great memories there but that he wanted the big stage of New York.

Once Rose got word the Bulls were looking to trade him, he hoped it would be to the Knicks.

"His first choice was New York," the source said. "He wants the spotlight."

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf called the trade a "hard one" to make.

"Everyone knows him as the local kid who became MVP for his hometown team, but not everyone got to know him like I did," Reinsdorf said in a statement. "While he is a terrific basketball player, he is an even better person with a tremendous heart."

ESPN reported last week that the Knicks had internal discussions recently about trading for Rose, the NBA MVP for the 2010-11 season.

Both Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek and general manager Steve Mills had said that the team was interested in upgrading their point guard position in the offseason.