NBA Free Agency Rumors: Derrick Rose to sign with the Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have added a former MVP in Derrick Rose, via free agency. He will either be their new backup or be a starter if Kyrie Irving departs.

Nobody would imagine that after the 2011 playoff series between LeBron James and Derrick Rose that they would ever be teammates. It was a season in which Rose won the MVP, while many thought that James deserved the honor.

The King took it personally and defended Rose in every fourth quarter of the series, hounding him to poor showings down the stretch of those games. The Heat eventually won the series and the Rose-James rivalry ended soon after.

The Bulls’ star then left his hometown Chicago to join an older, veteran team in the New York Knicks. The experiment didn’t necessarily work and Rose was about the become a free agent. Many had thought he’d return to the Big Apple on a cheap contract, but nobody expected that he would head to Cleveland to become a backup to Kyrie Irving.

It was reported last week that Rose met up with the Lakers and Cavaliers, but would take some time to decide where he would continue his career.

Per The Vertical’s Shams Charania, Derrick Rose is committing to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers and has also passed his physical exam.

Rose was in Cleveland for a free agent visit, but it seems as if talks became serious and he will now become a Cavalier. It’ll be interesting to see whether Rose becomes a backup to Kyrie Irving or the new starter if the Cavaliers do in fact trade their 25-year-old superstar.

Next: 5 trade destinations for Kyrie Irving, now that he wants to leave Cleveland

The news of the visit with Rose came immediately after a meeting with Irving in which he requested a trade out of Cleveland. It becomes Koby Altman’s first move as the GM of the Cavaliers. Let’s see how Rose will fit in with LeBron and the Cavaliers.