With Kyrie Irving's trade request creating a potential need for another point guard, the Cavaliers are meeting with free agent Derrick Rose in Ohio on Monday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
Rose, 28, is willing to play on a one-year, $2.1 veteran minimum deal if he can 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 with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, but is leaning toward signing with the Cavs. The Lakers want Rose to mentor rookie Lonzo Ball and have the cap space to out-bid the Cavs.
But Rose sees 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 LeBron James. The bombshell left James "blindsided and disappointed," but James will stay out of the Cavs' front office moves in response, Windhorst said.
Last season, Rose averaged 18 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 64 games. 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 NBA MVP award. In his career, he's averaged 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6 assists.
What the Cavs must consider 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 already signed a backup point guard, adding Jose Calderon, 35, to take the spot held at the end of last season by Deron Williams.
