Cavs reportedly wanted to sign Derrick Rose before Kyrie Irving trade request

Reports of the Cleveland Cavaliers having interest in Derrick Rose surfaced right around the time Kyrie Irving supposedly met with the team and asked to be traded, but one apparently did not directly impact the other.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs were interested in signing Rose independent of the situation they are dealing with with Irving. That does not, however, mean the Irving drama was not a factor in Rose’s decision.

Rose has a home in Southern California and spends his summers there. The 28-year-old chose the Cavs over the Los Angeles Lakers because he wants to contend for a title, plus the Lakers would have asked him to play the role of mentor behind rookie Lonzo Ball. With Irving possibly on his way out of Cleveland, Rose has an opportunity to be a big contributor with the Cavs.

Wojnarowski reports that the Cavs have started to engage in trade discussions involving Irving, and that increases the possbility that Rose could have a “significant” role in Cleveland. While he’s coming off yet another knee injury, the point guard is said to be healthy and averaged 18.0 points per game before he went down last season.

If Rose can stay on the court, he could thrive playing alongside LeBron James. Some of the issues Irving has with LeBron as a teammate won’t apply to Rose, especially with how much he has to prove at this point in his career.