The Derrick Rose saga continues to be somewhat of a bizarre one. Having to rehab yet another injury has taken its toll on Rose and while attempting to recover from a sprained ankle Rose has questioned once again as he did as a member of the Knicks last season if he wants to continue his NBA career.
Rose has been away from the team for weeks now while deciding on his future. The Cavaliers organization has shown Rose a great deal of respect and understanding and encouraged him to come back when he feels ready.
According to Tom Withers of the Associated Press and Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, that time might be now.
Here is what Vardon said:
“The Cavaliers and estranged point guard Derrick Rose have engaged in “positive” communication and he could be nearing a return to the team.
Both coach Tyronn Lue and general manager Koby Altman said Saturday that the team had spoken to Rose, who left the day before Thanksgiving to consider his basketball future.
But Lue directed all questions to Altman, who said there’d be more information Sunday. Altman declined to confirm Rose’s imminent return, but Lue has said since Rose left that he’d be back.”
Rose’s decision to return to the court seems like an obvious one, and not just because of the fact that he has an opportunity to play a role for a contender, but also because he still has a huge endorsement deal with Adidas (I am sure they are thrilled about it) and could possibly be leaving as much as $80 million on the table if he retires now, according to a report from Nick DePaula of ESPN a few weeks ago:
“As he continues to “re-evaluate his future in the NBA” while away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, point guard Derrick Rose could potentially be leaving more than $80 million of Adidas endorsement money on the table should he decide to retire outright…
If Rose files retirement paperwork with the league, the terms of any remaining years on the Adidas deal will not be paid out. Even though Rose’s star power has faded in recent years, Adidas has been contractually obligated to continue producing and marketing a DRose signature sneaker each year. Rose had been wearing the DRose 8 model this season.”
While Rose is a shell of his former self, the Cavaliers are incredibly light at the point guard position while waiting for Isaiah Thomas to return and having Rose as an option would be really helpful, even for a team that is currently enjoying an 11 game winning streak with Rose sidelined.
Expect Rose to be back with the team in the next few days.
