Derrick Rose signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer and will either partner with Kyrie Irving in the backcourt or be his replacement (Irving absolutely wants out). Joining the Cavs wasn’t Rose’s first choice, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski; there were two Western Conference teams at the top of Rose’s list, neither of which wanted to sign him:
Rose tried hard to get top Western Conference teams to sign him — the San Antonio Spurs, the LA Clippers — but those teams passed. Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd had interest, but the Los Angeles Lakers and Cavaliers eventually made offers.
Rose also considered the Los Angeles Lakers, but wanted to win:
Eventually, the Lakers wanted Rose to play behind Lonzo Ball, and be a mentor. Rose lives in L.A. in the summers, and loves Southern California, but he didn’t want to imagine another losing season. Once James and coach Ty Lue became involved in the Cleveland conversations, Rose had a better idea about how it would work for him. In the end, the Cavaliers had interest regardless of the Irving circumstances, league sources said.
Rose ended up agreeing to a one-year deal with the Cavs at the minimum (worth $2.1 million). Last year for the New York Knicks, Rose averaged 18 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting.
