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Derrick Rose Communicating With Cavaliers About Potential Return

Cleveland point guard Derrick Rose left the team this past Wednesday. He said he needed some time away, to deal with his increasing frustration about his constant injury problems. Rose isn’t even sure that he wants to continue playing at this moment.

But unlike last year, when Rose left his Knicks team without reaching out to team officials (teammates and fans were worried about where he may be), the former MVP is staying in contact with the franchise’s front office, talking about a potential return.

If Rose were to retire, he would be leaving over $80 million of Adidas endorsement money on the table. But if Rose decided to come back and play for Cleveland this season and continues to play the way he has [the Cavs’ defense is 12.6 points per 100 possessions better, and the offense 4.1 per 100 with Rose off the court], it is not unlikely for him to not find a new team for the 2018-19 season. In this case though, the Adidas contract would be paid out.

Chris Mannix of The Vertical talked to some scouts and executives who are not convinced there is much demand for someone like Rose:

“He’s been terrible,” a scout told Yahoo Sports earlier this month. “That’s the point of attack. If you can’t stop the ball, you can’t stop anybody. And he isn’t defending the ball at all. If you put him in a pick-and-roll, you are guaranteed to get any shot that you want.”…

He could return to Cleveland, finish the season, and enter free agency next summer radioactive. The market — already dry for a faded former star — will become barren. Said a longtime NBA executive, “He’s become Deron Williams.”