Derrick Rose Reportedly Meeting With Cavaliers To Discuss One-Year Deal

Derrick Rose is meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in the hopes of agreeing to a one-year contract with the team, according to ESPN.

Derrick Rose Cavaliers meeting news

ESPN also reported the free-agent guard is seeking a deal with the Cavaliers — who are well over the salary cap, according to The Chicago Tribune — worth at least $2.1 million.

Rose also met with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, but is more interested in playing in Cleveland, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

The 28-year-old guard has dealt with several injuries since capturing the NBA MVP trophy in 2011 for the Chicago Bulls, who drafted him as the No. 1 overall pick out of Memphis in 2008 and with whom he played for eight seasons before transferring to the New York Knicks in 2016.

In his first season with the Knicks, Rose averaged 18 points and 4.4 assists in 64 games. He underwent season-ending knee surgery in April, and also sat out the entire 2012-2013 season following knee surgery.

It’s been a rough month for the Cavaliers since they fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. General manager David Griffin parted ways with the team after three years, and owner Dan Gilbert couldn’t convince former NBA player Chauncey Billups to join his front office.

Rose’s visit to Ohio comes shortly after Kyrie Irving private trade request on July 7. Since then, incoming Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman has studied every major trade from the past ten years or more, per sources, although no official deal has yet been made for the point guard. Irving has been heavily rumored to be traded to the Phoenix Suns for point guard Eric Bledsoe, who shares the same agent as LeBron James. 

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Miami Heat could save the Cavaliers money by offering Goran Dragic, Wayne Ellington, and Justise Winslow for Irving and Iman Shumpert, although Cleveland would likely reject that deal “unless the market proves cool.”  Lowe also says Irving could end up with the Knicks following a three-team trade with the Suns involving Shumpert, Frye, and New York’s newly-drafted French guard Frank Ntilikina along with an unprotected Knicks draft pick.

Lowe also speculated that Irving could be dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in a swap involving Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and two unprotected first-round draft selections.

BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 22: Derrick Rose #1 of the Chicago Bulls dribbles against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter at TD Garden on January 22, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts.