Isaiah Thomas‘ hip injury has cast doubts on when he will be able to contribute to the Cavaliers this upcoming season. LeBron James and head coach Tyronn Lue reportedly “cooled” on the acquisition of Thomas after learning that he may miss the start of the regular season and possibly be out until after the All-Star break, according to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
Thomas himself has a more positive outlook. Speaking to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski before the Celtics and Cavaliers completed their blockbuster trade, Thomas proclaimed he is “not damaged” and promised he would return to last year’s form — where he averaged an Eastern Conference-best 28.9 PPG.
“There’s never been an indication that I wouldn’t be back, and there’s never been an indication that this is something messing up my career,” he said. “Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I’m going to be back, and I’m going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that.”
If Thomas misses that much time, Cleveland’s signing of former NBA Most Valuable Player, Derrick Rose, becomes that much more important. Rose, 28, spent 2016/17 with the Knicks and while off court issues plagued most of his season, he was a productive asset, averaging 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG. Hindered by injury for most of his career, Rose underwent surgery for a torn meniscus — his fourth knee surgery — in April but is expected to be ready for training camp.
Cleveland signed Rose to a one-year, $2.1MM deal — the veteran’s minimum. The same player who spent the last two years saying he will seek a maximum contract (which would have been worth approximately $150MM) will make less in 2017/18 than Ron Baker — his backup in New York last season. Yet, much like his new teammate Thomas, Rose is confident about what he will do in a Cavs uniform.
“When I get on a good team and I’m still hooping the same way, what are you going to say then?” Rose said to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “The only thing that you’ll can say is that I can still play.”
If Rose can still play at the level of last season, Cleveland will have a more than adequate stopgap if Thomas is not ready to begin the year. Conversely, unless Rose somehow recaptures his 2011 MVP form, he will be a significant downgrade from the departed Kyrie Irving.
Either way, Rose will have the opportunity to prove with his play that he’s worth more than the undrafted rookie who was his backup in free agency.
With all of that said: Do you think Rose will be a key part of the Cavaliers next season? If he plays well in Thomas’ absence, should he retain the starters role? Will his body be able to hold up? Will Thomas come back healthy and keep Rose on the bench?
I think rose will be very important the cave. He will be that bench scoring they need. Rose needs the cave, too, because if he does well then someone will pay him.
They never would have made that trade if they didn’t have Rose. They’re not that stupid, they knew IT would miss some time, and they were able to risk it.
He looks great in the highlights, scoring inside against defenses ready for him.
If the Cavs can get a perimeter-shooting center, seems like he would rock as a postman!
So funny how idiots think rose is still good because he puts numbers up… he is a terrible defender and can’t shoot so make you worse on offense AKA FOR ALL YOU DUHHHHHHS HE IS NOT A GOOD BBALL PLAYER
Lets see there are fellow players, a coach, scouts and a GM, that are very good at scouting & assessing talent. If D-Rose were not capable of still playing at a high level, i can assure you he wouldn’t be on the Cavs. D-Rose averaged 18pts & 5asts in the NBA last year. Averaging 18pts in the NBA is not an easy feat…i bet you couldn’t do it, as you sit on the sideline direspecting that man. NOT COOL !
Mate you do realise he signed with cavs for the MINIMUM. Pls let that sink in rosetards. MINIMUM IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU CAN GET IN THE NBA. Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Rose was not trying to maximize his 2017 income when he chose the Cavs. And your trolling does not maximize making sense. Different goals.
I’m not trolling I’m being honest about rose. He wanted to sign with clippers and spurs but they didn’t want him so he signed the MINIMUM in Cleveland
First off, several teams were looking at Rose, including Milwaukee, but because of his prior health issues and the slight decline in his play, he has to prove himself all over again. D-Rose had conversations with teams, but im sure he picked Cleveland over another team. There are always other things involved that we have no knowledge of…a guaranteed trip to the finals, why wouldn’t he take a little less to go to Cleveland. Rose gets to audition on the biggest stage to set himself up for his next contract. Its his to lose or take full advantage of.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. He joined cavs because he knows if he gets a ring there’s more chance of him getting to the hall of fame. He is still a MINIMUM player though
You’re outta your mind. If they win a championship or go to the finals and D-Rose stays healthy, he will automatically get a raise. You dont know sports, you dont understand leverage, you dont understand the business aspect of basketball. JR Smith barely got signed by the Cavs for 5 million a year….they won the title that year and he negotiated for 15 million a year after holding out. Tristan Thompson did the same thing the year before JR when he signed a 5 year 80 million dollar contract. Once you prove that you are a important component on a contender, they pay to keep the chemistry intact. Once a team reaches a championship level, they will go into the luxury tax and overspend to ride that wave as long as possible. You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. The Warriors just overpaid Iguodala in order to keep the team chemistry intact. Hey bro, either step your game up or step off and let people chat that know what the hell their talking about, you’re a clown !
Hahaha mate I definitely understand how the NBA works a whole lot more than you. You know what the mid level exeption is? Cavs didn’t even want to use that on him. You’re a typical rose tard
Why would they use their MLE if they didn’t have to? You’re going at this backwards.
Rose literally said he was going to get a max deal last spring
What player doesn’t believe in himself, his ability or his value ? If you dont see the value in yourself how can you expect others to ? Athletes always run into this situation, where they take less for one year to prove themselves all over again. How Rose bounces back this year will determine his value moving forward. Rose only has value on contenders. Rose is not a player that you can use to teach younger players, his highest value, like Carmelo’s, is playing with veterans that are competing for hardware. Rose is not the type of player to put with a team full of youth, he’s not a leader. On a contender, in a backup role, that position pays between 8 to 12 million a year, while starting point guards on contenders make between 25 to 40 million a year. Livingston on the Warriors just signed for 8 million a year…Patty Mills just signed for 12 million a year. Rose is, at the very least, a top notch backup point guard…18pts & 5asts last year. Those are above average numbers.
By the way, value on certain positions in basketball change from year to year depending on demand versus availability. Rim protectors, stretch 4’s and top notch point guard play are in very high demand currently. There are surprisingly very few rim protectors in the NBA right now.
He sign for that cause cavs have no cap room they had Irving contract at the time plus Love Thompson Smith Shumpert
DRose finds his groove and MYAMI changes his screen name to “DROse is a Chanp!”