NBA: Troubled Cavaliers reportedly ink former MVP Rose to one-year deal
CLEVELAND— Free-agent guard Derrick Rose agreed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, a source told The Associated Press.
Rose, the former NBA MVP who has battled knee injuries, will reportedly get a one-year contract at the veteran’s minimum of $2.1 million (U.S.) The Cavs are over the league salary cap and couldn’t offer more.
Rose played for the New York Knicks last season and averaged 18 points and 4.4 assists. The 28-year- old’s role with the Cavs is still to be determined. He could be used as a backup or start depending on what the team does with all-star Kyrie Irving, who recently demanded a trade.
Rose skipped a game in January without telling Knicks officials or teammates where he was going. But he averaged a career-high 10.1 points in the paint, second in the league for point guards behind the Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan, and shot .471 from the field, his best percentage since 2009-10. In 2011, Rose became the youngest player in league history to win the league MVP award. In his career, he’s averaged 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and six assists a game.
The downside is Rose’s long list of knee injuries. They began in the 2012 playoffs, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Ten games into his return in 2013, he tore his right meniscus, which he re-tore in 2015. Last season Rose missed the final five games with a torn meniscus in his left knee that required arthroscopic surgery.
The Cavs had already signed 35year-old point guard Jose Calderon.
Rose drew interest from other teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers. He met with Cleveland’s front office on Monday, when the team formally promoted Koby Altman to full-time general manager after serving as interim GM since midJune.
It’s been a turbulent month for Cleveland since losing to Golden State in the NBA final. GM David Griffin left the team, owner Dan Gilbert couldn’t entice former NBA star Chauncey Billups to join his front office and now the Irving mess and reports of friction with stars LeBron James and Kevin Love — an alleged rift that teammate Richard Jefferson denied in a weekend podcast.
“I don’t think that there’s a power struggle with LeBron and Kyrie and Kev,” Jefferson said. “Kyrie is a hyperintelligent kid, really, really smart, doesn’t get enough credit for how smart he is.”