Report: Knicks interested in re-signing Rose

There's still a chance that Derrick Rose will be calling Madison Square Garden home for the foreseeable future.

Despite all of the controversy and questions about his fit within Phil Jackson's triangle, the New York Knicks have "legitimate" interest in retaining the free-agent point guard, league sources told ESPN's Ian Begley.

Rose has averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game over the last three seasons - two with the Chicago Bulls and the most recent campaign with New York. Though he's only played between 51 and 66 games per season in that span, that's still a marked improvement on the stretch from 2011-14, in which he played just 49 games total across three seasons.

With such a checkered injury history, Rose is unlikely to be paid like a three-time All-Star who captured an MVP trophy. At 28 years old and coming off a solid scoring season, however, he should be able to fetch a fair payday on the open market. Rose's future with the Knicks likely hinges on the amount of money he's willing to leave on the table.

Related: Agent hints Rose may be willing to take pay cut to stay with Knicks

After selecting French guard Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 pick in the draft, the Knicks have some semblance of a contingency plan if Rose balks at a potential return, but the raw Frenchman likely needs to be an understudy for at least a season or two before getting the keys to the blue-and-orange Ferrari.