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After completing his physical on Monday, free agent point guard Derrick Rose has agreed to sign a deal with the Cavaliers, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania. The move adds depth at the point guard position to a Cleveland team looking to make its fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
The contract is a one-year deal worth $2.1 million, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
Derrick Rose has committed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers and completed his physical exam today, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 24, 2017
Rose averaged 18 points and 4.4 assists per game with the floundering New York Knicks last season — a team mired in controversy that finished 31-51 despite playoff aspirations to begin the year. He showed flashes of the player who became the youngest MVP in NBA history, but was saddled with off-court issues, including a civil sexual assault trial to begin the season, nagging injuries, and failing to report to a game without alerting teammates.
Rose eventually suffered a minor torn meniscus that cut his season short in early April. The contract is a severe drop-off in pay for Rose, who collected $21.3 million from the Knicks last year.
Rose joins a “peculiar” situation in Cleveland
The Cavaliers were trounced by the Golden State Warriors in last year’s NBA Finals, and ever since, the focus has been on improving a roster that was almost swept on the league’s biggest stage.
Cleveland, however, has been unable to secure top-flight roster help in an offseason where its general manager David Griffin left without a replacement. The team promoted Koby Altman from assistant general manager to full-time GM.
As a result, the Cavs failed to land either Paul George or Jimmy Butler, both of whom were being actively shopped and were eventually dealt elsewhere. Instead, the Cavaliers re-signed Kyle Korver and added Jeff Green and Jose Calderon via free agency, and now, Kyrie Irving no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James and has requested a trade.
Regardless, Rose projects to be more of a help off the bench for the Cavaliers than Deron Williams, who scored a total of five points in the entire NBA Finals. The 28-year-old guard proved he can still score off the dribble with the Knicks, something the Cavaliers will need from the backcourt if they do indeed part ways with Irving.