Kyrie Irving has said that he wants to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cavs have probably found his replacement in Derrick Rose.
Sources told ESPN Thursday, that the Cleveland Cavaliers were in serious talks with Derrick Rose on a one year deal Rose was plagued by knee injuries during his time with the Chicago Bulls and that has damaged his reputation. He was known as one of the most explosive point guards and that has probably been taken away by Russell Westbrook after Westbrook’s own MVP season this past year. Rose won the MVP award in 2011 before injuring his knee in the first round of the 2012 NBA playoffs. Rose still may have a chance to prove that he can still fly the way that he used to.
Rose actually improved from the season before to the season that just past. In the 2015-16 season Rose averaged 16.4 points a game but in the 2016-17 season, he averaged 18 points a game even. That is a good average for somebody that has missed as many games as he has due to knee injuries. Rose’s durability will be a question because his season ended with a torn meniscus in his left knee which adds to his long list of knee injuries. He only managed to play 64 games last year, so you may not have him game in and game out, but the Cavs have been known to rest their players during the season. LeBron James famously took a two-week rest during the season to nurse his knee and back.
The reason Rose would be a good fit as a player for the Cavaliers is because he will be playing alongside LeBron and he makes everybody around him better. The Cavaliers have been the best team in the eastern conference for the past three seasons so Rose will not be in a situation where he doesn’t have players around him and has to shoulder the load. Rose will not even have to bring the ball up all the time as LeBron has proven to be a good point forward at the small forward spot.
The Cavaliers will be missing Kyrie on the offensive side of the ball.He averaged 25.2 points a game last year and that added with LeBron’s team leading 26.4 points a game and Kevin Love’s 19 points a game. The Cavaliers had a balanced attack and Kyrie is one of the players in the league that other players feared to guard. Those days are probably behind Rose but the Cavaliers will make up for Kyrie’s scoring when they trade him.
Kyrie wants to go San Antonio, Minnesota, Miami, or New York. New York would most likely be the spot that the Cavaliers would trade him to because they have Carmelo Anthony. The Cavaliers have wanted Carmelo and might get him with a three team trade with them, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Knicks. According to Bleacher Report, the Cavaliers would get Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker and a 2021 first round pick from the Clippers. The Clippers would get Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert. The Knicks would get Austin Rivers and Wesley Johnson.
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Derrick Rose and LeBron James would be a good combination if Rose was his MVP caliber self. Actually, it would be a nightmare for opposing teams but the Cavaliers still should have the pieces with Derrick Rose and the players from the Kyrie trade to still be dominant.