2017 NBA free agency grades: Cleveland Cavaliers will sign Derrick Rose

The Cleveland Cavaliers reached an agreement with Derrick Rose on Monday. What will he bring to the team, and does he have anything left?

It’s not 2011, but the Cleveland Cavaliers made a good signing on Monday.

As first reported by The Vertical‘s Shams Charania, the Cavaliers reached an agreement to sign Derrick Rose. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, it will be a one-year, $2.1 million deal, which is the veteran’s minimum.

The Los Angeles Lakers met with him last week and could have offered him more money.

However, Rose sees the Cavaliers as a chance to win a championship now instead of going through a rebuild mode and being a mentor to Lonzo Ball.

Obviously, the Cavs aren’t getting the MVP version of him, but they’re getting a formidable guard that can still get to the basket when he wants to.

He’s not as explosive as he once was, but he still has opposing defenders on skates as he gets dribble penetration.

He averaged 18 points per game last season with the New York Knicks, which is his highest total over his last three years with the Chicago Bulls. Rose also had his highest field goal percentage in that same span, shooting 47.1 percent.

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He’s never been great from the three-point range. His career-high was 33 percent in 2010, and he only shot 22 percent from downtown last year. Some Cavs fans are worried about this aspect of his game, but it’s not needed.

The Cavaliers have more than enough shooters on the team, and all Rose needs to do is play his game, and he’ll be fine. He will have a lot more open opportunities with the club than he did with the Bulls and Knicks.

Opposing teams will be worried about guarding LeBron James and Kevin Love (and possibly Kyrie Irving), and it will leave him open to either shoot or slash to the hole for the easy score.

Rose has never been an elite defender, so the struggles going one-on-one will still remain.

He has gotten key, game-changing blocks throughout his career–even a few chase-down blocks that rivaled James. That’s where the help defense must step up.

Since head coach Tyronn Lue took over the team, they have struggled with switching and on help defense. It was obvious during the regular season last year and against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

They either get confused, or beat terribly, and the opposing team gets the easy basket. It is something they must improve for next season, or it’ll be the same results.

Now the big question: Is Rose going to come off the bench or start with the whole Irving situation?

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If the Cavs are able to resolve the issue between Irving and James, than obviously he would back up Irving, with Jose Calderon backing him up. But if Irving gets traded, and the Cavs don’t get an impactful point guard in the swap, Rose would be the starter by default.

He won’t be looked upon as a second option. I think Love would have a bigger role, and anything from Rose would be extra. I think his shot would improve, and he wouldn’t have to drive to the hole as much with all the three-point shooting the Cavs have.

Now the next question with all of this: Can Rose stay healthy?  NBA fans have seen a promising, potential Hall-of-Fame career hampered by injuries for years now.

According to FOXSports.com, just last year, he suffered three injuries, and was shut down for the rest of year after his last one.  In all, he’s suffered a total of 21 injuries in his eight-year career.

I’m not making that up. He’s only 28 years old, and has the legs of a 93-year-old.

It’s also a question if he will be available mentally throughout the season. Last year, he missed an entire game without calling or telling anybody where he was at until after it was over. I understand everybody goes through things, but you have to let your employer know what’s going on, and with the dysfunction on the team already, that’s the last thing the Cavs need.

They also don’t need another Deron Williams, who is just happy to have a shot at a championship, and won’t put the necessary work in to contribute consistently. It’s not in Rose’s demeanor, but stranger things have occurred.

Rose is not the answer to beating the Golden State Warriors. In 2011, possibly, but not right now. I think it’s a good move for depth purposes, and he might be motivated and show that he has something left in the tank if he remains healthy.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

It’s still fairly early in the offseason, and the Cavs aren’t done yet.

Grade: B-