Derrick Rose was scratched from the Knicks game minutes before tip-off and absolutely no one seems to know why

A strange situation began to unfold with the New York Knicks Monday night as Derrick Rose was a late scratch from the game for reasons unknown.

Shortly before tip-off, reports said the Knicks announced that backup point guard Brandon Jennings would start as Rose is not with the team. He reportedly did not warm up with the team.

Rose's absence immediately raised questions. If he was injured and unable to play, he would have been listed on the injury report or an injury would have been announced. If he was missing for personal reasons, that also likely would have been cited when his absence was announced.

Furthering the strange situation, Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, perhaps the foremost NBA insider, reported that some team officials and people close to Rose were unsure of why he was not with the team.

Wojnarowski added that people close to Rose said he was unhappy about sitting the entire fourth quarter of a Friday-night win over the Milwaukee Bucks, but it's unclear if that has anything to do with his absence.

Wojnarowski also added, as did ESPN's Ian Begley, that Rose could not be reached by a member of the Knicks staff before tip-off:

Again, it's an extremely unusual situation, particularly for a player as prominent as Rose. Even if the player or team did not want the reason for the absence to be known, usually they would say the player is missing for personal reasons.

Rose has averaged 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game in 33 games for the Knicks this season.

The Knicks did not immediately respond to a request for a statement on Rose's absence.