The Memphis Grizzlies came into this offseason with a fairly clear plan to add more veterans to their upstart roster after another early exit as the West’s 2-seed.
After trading Tyus Jones and a pair of first round picks for Marcus Smart in a June blockbuster, the Grizzlies went into free agency looking to add a veteran point guard to fill the backup role. After a big early run on guards, they landed on Derrick Rose later Friday evening, giving the former MVP a two-year deal, per Ian Begley and Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent Derrick Rose intends to sign a multi-year agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies, per SNY sources.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 1, 2023
Free agent Derrick Rose has agreed on a two-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, source tells ESPN. Grizzlies want Rose on the floor this season and as a leader in locker room. @IanBegley first reported.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
Rose’s addition is interesting for Memphis in that he played very limited minutes a year ago in New York, averaging 5.6 points per game in 12.5 minutes a night off the bench. Given the Grizzlies will need to fill a lot of minutes in the first quarter of the season as Ja Morant serves a 25-game suspension, Rose may need to play a not insignificant role to start the season. At the same time, once Morant is back, backcourt minutes shouldn’t be a real issue, and landing a standout backup point guard was going to be tough with Morant and Smart expected to eat up most of the ball-handling minutes once the team got to full strength.
We’ll find out how much Rose still has in the tank, and Woj notes this is as much about adding a veteran presence to a locker room that has been lacking in that regard, although Rose isn’t known much as a vocal leader. Rose, meanwhile, returns to the place he burst on the national scene as a college player at Memphis.
