NBA Rumors: Latest on Derrick Rose and Possible Carmelo Anthony Trade

For most NBA fans, we're entering the quiet period of the offseason. The summer league—which was a pleasant thrill this year—is over, the draft is long gone and most of the notable players who were on the trade and free-agent markets are now off it.

We have roughly three months before the 2017-18 regular season begins.

Well, basketball fans, the excitement of the offseason isn't quite over yet. While the next three months are going to drag a bit, there are going to be a few moves made to add some juice to the association. There are still a few notable free agents waiting to be signed and a few moves left to be made.

We're here to examine the latest offseason buzz after the end of the summer league.

Cavaliers Could Be Closing in on Rose

The Cleveland Cavaliers have done virtually nothing this offseason to try catching the Golden State Warriors. While other teams—specifically those in the Western Conference—have been piling on pieces to give the Warriors a run, the Cavaliers have fired their general manager and then sat on their proverbial hands.

This led to some frustration on the part of star LeBron James.

"At 32, James wants to win now," Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today recently wrote. "Given Cleveland's salary cap situation which prevents it from unlimited spending, James is realistic about what's possible and what's not, and that's why he wonders why the Cavs went into a critical period without veteran front-office execs in place to execute complicated moves."

Well, the Cavaliers may finally be close to executing a notable move, though it doesn't really appear all that complicated. According to Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Cavaliers are in serious talks with former MVP and current free agent Derrick Rose.

Rose's career has been derailed by injuries, and he hasn't played at an MVP level for some time, but he's still a guy who would make a lot of sense for Cleveland. The eight-year veteran quietly put up 18.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He could be the team's second-unit point guard and still has the talent to make that second unit formidable.

This would be huge for Cleveland because the team's biggest problem against the Warriors was having a bench that wasn't threatening at all. Cleveland's starters outscored the Warriors' 482-463 during the Finals.

If Rose can help erase the disparity in bench play, the Cavalier might actually have a chance at earning title No. 2.

Lakers Also Interested in Rose

One common theme surrounding the Cavaliers this summer has been that when the team has looked into acquiring a player, said player has typically been scooped up by another team. For example, the team was close to acquiring Jimmy Butler before general manager David Griffin was relieved, according to Zillgitt.

Butler ended up being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

There's a chance Cleveland could miss out on Rose, too. They aren't the only team interested in acquiring him. The Los Angeles Lakers are also keen on the former MVP. According to ESPN's Chris Haynes, Rose and the Lakers met on Thursday and both sides felt good about their meeting:

Rose's role in Los Angeles would be a bit different than his role would be in Cleveland. Rather than play sidekick to Cleveland's big three, he'd be playing mentor to rookie point guard Lonzo Ball. The question Rose has to ask himself is whether he wants to be a veteran leader on a young team or a role player with a chance to play in the NBA Finals.

Per Sam Amick of USA Today, Rose could make his decision by this weekend:

As Amick pointed out, a return to the Chicago Bulls isn't out of the question. While Rose might enjoy returning to the franchise for which he played seven seasons, it doesn't seem the role there would be as enticing. After trading away Butler, the Bulls appear to be at the start of another lengthy rebuild, of which Rose would likely be just another player.

Could Carmelo End up in Portland?

The New York Knicks have had on-again, off-again trade talk with the Houston Rockets about shipping out Carmelo Anthony and the $54 million remaining on his current contract. The team has also been in contact with the Cavaliers.

Anthony previously made it known that Cleveland and Houston were two teams he'd waive his no-trade clause in order to join.

Talks haven't materialized into a deal, though. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that the Knicks were going to put trade talks on hold for a while and focus on potentially reincorporating Anthony into the team. 

Wojnarowski recently reported on SportsCenter (h/t Marc Berman of the New York Daily News), that Anthony has the following message for the Knicks:

"I want to go to Houston. I am not interested in talking to you about being reincorporated back into this New York roster.”

If Anthony is so adamant about wanting to leave New York at this point, is it possible another team could swoop in and grab him? If he can't get the trade to Houston that he desperately seems to want, this doesn't seem like an outlandish possibility.

One team that would love to take advantage of such a scenario is the Portland Trail Blazers.

"One team that New York and Houston had hoped would facilitate a multiteam trade for Anthony, the Portland Trail Blazers, plans to participate in a deal for Anthony only if he decides to expand his no-trade clause to include them, league sources told ESPN," Wojnarowski recently reported.

If the Trail Blazers aren't willing to offer Anthony a trip to Houston but are willing to offer him a trip out of New York, he may indeed consider taking Portland off his no-trade list.