Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau, together again?
It’s a possibility.
Rose and Gregg Popovich, an actual item?
That might be one, too.
According to ESPN.com’s Ian Begley, the Minnesota Timberwolves have interest in signing the free-agent point, and they may not be the only ones:
The Minnesota Timberwolves view Derrick Rose as a potential free-agent target this summer, league sources told ESPN. . . .
It is unclear at this point which other teams besides the Timberwolves view Rose as a potential free-agent target. Some rival executives believe that the San Antonio Spurs may have interest in Rose, depending on how the free-agent market for point guards develops.
Okay, then.
If the Timberwolves are signing Rose, it’s because Ricky Rubio is gone, or because they traded Kris Dunn and think Rose would buy into a super-sub role off the bench. It doesn’t make sense to bring him in for any other reason, since housing him, Dunn, Rubio and Zach LaVine is beyond redundant. So if he ends up in Minnesota, expect major changes to the rest of the roster.
The Spurs are a more shocking destination. Rose doesn’t really fit anything they do. He can get into the lane perhaps better than prime Tony Parker, but he’s not much of an off-ball weapon and doesn’t try as hard on defense.
With that said, the Spurs are in a weird situation. Parker is recovering from a torn left quad and Patty Mills is entering free agency. If they don’t gut the roster to go all in on this year’s crop of free agents, they might simply be looking for a one-year stopgap—a bridge to this era and the Dejounte Murray one, not to mention a summer of 2018 that, as of now, would see them enjoy large swathes of cap space.
In the event Rose is looking to sign a cheap one-year, maybe two-year, deal to rebuild his stock, risk of injury be damned, the Spurs could theoretically end up being one of his suitors. But don’t hold your breath.
