NBA free agent rumors: New York Knicks' Brandon Jennings will play back-up to Derrick Rose

Brandon JenningsReuters

Brandon Jennings has confirmed that he will be with the New York Knicks for the upcoming season, supporting Derrick Rose in a bid for an NBA championship.

Jennings will be the back-up point guard for Rose in the 2016-2017 NBA season, and the upcoming year is supposed to be a "test" for the hoops star, since both Knicks and Jennings will have to observe how the dynamics in the team will work. The management tried to get Jennings last year from Detroit, though the PG eventually made it to Orlando instead. He suffered a left Achilles tendon injury early last year, and only returned to the court in the middle of last season.

According to The New York Post, an inside source confirmed that Jennings took on a $5-million contract for a year with the Knicks. This may well be underrated considering that his deal last year amounted to $8.6 million. However, his recent injury may have had something to do with it, and why he only signed up for a "test" year with the team. Reportedly, Jennings himself is the one who requested a one-year, "test" contract to prove himself first for the team.

The "test" contract also serves as an observation point to check if Jennings will heal on time. "There's usually a one-year lag time on Achilles injuries. We'll see this year and people will see he's healthy again. He wasn't going to get value on a long-term deal. He didn't have his lateral quickness back," one NBA insider said.

Jennings has already confirmed that he will don the no. 3 jersey for the Knicks, the former number for Stephon Marbury. In a Twitter post, Jennings posted a badly Photoshopped image of Knicks no. 3, though it is only a funny twist to a previous tweet from one of his fans, urging him to come to Sacramento Kings instead.