Derrick Rose Rumors: Mavericks Reportedly 'Serious Contender' for Free-Agent PG
The Dallas Mavericks may have selected Dennis Smith Jr. with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, but that might not stop the team from adding an experienced point guard this summer.
According to the New York Post's Marc Berman, the Mavs are a "serious contender" to sign Derrick Rose.
The Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko reported, however, that Dallas doesn't have Rose on its free-agent radar.
ESPN.com's Ian Begley reported Rose has met with the Milwaukee Bucks and spoken with the New York Knicks. Begley eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers from contention after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Clippers signed European guard Milos Teodosic.
Rose would be a somewhat surprising signing for the Mavs.
For one, the 28-year-old is coming off a disappointing season. He averaged 18.0 points, but his 4.9 assists per 36 minutes were a career low, per Basketball-Reference.com. While never a staple of his game, Rose's three-point shooting was underwhelming as well. He attempted only 60 three-pointers for the year and connected on 21.7 percent of his opportunities.
It's one thing for the Mavericks to add a veteran who can serve as a sort of mentor for Smith as he adjusts to the NBA. Rose, on the other hand, would likely expect a bigger role on the team, considering all but one of his 470 career regular-season appearances has come in a starting capacity.
The Western Conference will be even more competitive in 2017-18, which should give Dallas more incentive to look toward the future, thus making Smith a key piece of their lineup rather than signing a high-profile former MVP such as Rose.
