Derrick Rose, the youngest player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award when he took the trophy in 2011, is talking over a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN reported Thursday.
The oft-injured 28-year-old point guard would add a backcourt spark for the Cavaliers as they try to mount a tougher challenge to Golden State, which beat Cleveland in two of their three NBA Finals matchups over the past three seasons.
The offer to Rose from Cleveland is a minimum contract for $2.1 million, according to ESPN.
If Rose joined the Cavaliers, it would mean that between them, Golden State and Cleveland would have every NBA MVP from 2009 through 2016.
Cavs star LeBron James won the award in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Golden State forward Kevin Durant won it in 2014 while with Oklahoma City and Warriors guard Stephen Curry was the 2015 and 2016 MVP. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook won this year’s MVP award last month.
Rose, the top pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by hometown club Chicago, has met with several teams this month, including Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Rose averaged 18 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists on 47 percent shooting over 64 games for the New York Knicks last season after being traded from Chicago in June of last year. His season ended April 2 after a left knee injury that required the fourth knee surgery of his nine-year NBA career.
Rose’s time with the Bulls with marred by a series of knee injuries, the first of them being torn left knee ligaments in the opening game of the 2012 playoffs. He missed the entire 2012-13 season and played less than a month into the 2013-14 campaign before a season-ending right knee injury. He missed 20 games in the 20-14-15 season after another right knee operation. – Agence France-Presse
