The Cleveland Cavaliers currently are in a state of turmoil at point guard. With Kyrie Irving requesting a trade so that he can go somewhere and be the man, the only point guards on the roster who are not LeBron James are Jose Calderon, Kay Felder, and Deron Williams. It’s a veteran group, but it’s not one that exactly inspires much confidence.
But the Cavs think they have found the answer: Derrick Rose. There have been rumblings for a few days that there was mutual interest between the two sides, and on Monday, Shams Chanaria of Yahoo Sports broke the news that Rose is heading to Cleveland.
Derrick Rose has committed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers and completed his physical exam today, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 24, 2017
Chris Haynes of ESPN reports that Rose will join the Cavaliers for next to nothing.
Free agent Derrick Rose has reached an agreement on a one-year, $2.1 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 24, 2017
Rose had reportedly been in contact with other teams during this free agency period — namely the Los Angeles Lakers — but Cleveland won the race for the former MVP. Of course, it’s hard to imagine that Rose will get back to his MVP form after suffering a series of knee injuries that really set his career back, even though some scouts thought he had some good moments as a member of the Knicks.
It remains to be seen whether this makes it easier for the Cavaliers to move Irving, or if they’re going to change course on a potential deal because they now have a starting point guard. But no matter what, Cleveland doesn’t have to wonder what it’s going to do at point guard once Irving leaves town. Well, unless Rose suffers an injury, but they’ll cross that bridge if they have to. Either way, the Cavs were able to get a former MVP for next to nothing.
