Derrick Rose
has reportedly agreed to sign a one-year contract for the minimum $2.1 million to join the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Considering Kyrie Irving’s uncertain future, the Cleveland Cavaliers are taking a stab at a bargain.
Free agent point guard Derrick Rose committed to signing with the Cavs on Monday evening and underwent a physical, Shams Charania of The Vertical reported.
A league source confirmed that Rose agreed to a one-year contract for the veteran minimum of $2.1 million.
With Irving’s trade request creating a likely need for another point guard, the Cavs met with Rose in Ohio on Monday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. According to The Vertical, Rose was to have dinner with new Cavs general manager Koby Altman Monday night and is expected to sign today. Charania said Rose is amenable to a starting or backup role.
According to Wojnarowski, Rose communicated with LeBron James throughout his talks with the Cavs. James also tweeted out five rose emojis with the message, “Let’s Rock G!!”
Rose, 28, was willing to take less money to join a contender. He suffered through a tumultuous 2016-17 season with the New York Knicks after being traded from the Chicago Bulls last June.
According to Wojnarowksi, Rose met Friday with the Los Angeles Lakers, who wanted him to mentor rookie Lonzo Ball. The Lakers had the cap space to offer more money, but Rose saw a better avenue to the NBA Finals with the Cavs, who have played for the title each of the last three seasons and won a championship in 2016.
Acquiring Rose might give the Cavs flexibility to look for a star player at another position as they explore trade options for Irving, who can’t become a free agent for two years. But according to Wojnarowski, the Cavs are still including a point guard in discussions about an Irving deal.
On Friday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Irving asked the Cavs to trade him earlier this month because he was tired of playing in the shadow of James. The bombshell left James “blindsided and disappointed,” but James will stay out of the Cavs’ front office moves in response, Windhorst said.
Other than what may have been a cryptic tweet by Kevin Love and a rap song posted to social media by James that included the lyrics “heavy heart,” there has been little reaction from Cavs players since news broke of Irving’s trade request Friday.
Richard Jefferson discussed the situation on the latest installment of his “Road Trippin’” podcast released on James’ “Uninterrupted” platform Monday.
“I don’t think that there’s a power struggle with LeBron and Kyrie and Kev,” Jefferson said during the podcast that featured Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and was taped at Vonn’s home Friday. “Kyrie is a hyper-intelligent kid, really, really smart, doesn’t get enough credit for how smart he is. I think seeing that the franchise is in flux, seeing [general manager David Griffin] leave, the amount of coaches, I think Kyrie has had a much tougher time in this stretch of the organization than anyone ever really wants to fully…
“He’s the No. 1 pick right after LeBron. He has three different coaches. LeBron comes back. Now there’s trade rumors. Now it’s LeBron’s leaving. At some point in time, anybody would want some sort of stability, even if it’s the unknown. I don’t know if he asked to be traded, but I will say that he’s had a tougher time if you look at it from start to where we are right now, of the ups and downs of a franchise more than most.
“Even though we’ve been successful and even though we’ve won a championship and he’s been an All-Star, there’s still been so much of a wave. To be like, ‘We’re going to sit here for a whole year on whether or not LeBron’s coming back,’ that’s got to be tough on anybody, everybody.”
Since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, Irving has played for four coaches — Byron Scott, Mike Brown, David Blatt and Tyronn Lue — and the Cavs just named their third general manager in that span.
Although Irving told the Cavs he wants to escape James’ shadow, according to Windhorst, Jefferson tried to downplay any rift between Irving and James.