NBA Free Agency: ‘Unlikely’ the Wizards sign Derrick Rose, according to report

UPDATE: Ben Standig reported on Patreon Saturday afternoon about several players the team is considering to add guard depth, including former Wizards Ramon Sessions and Donald Sloan, but indicates Derrick Rose is not high on the team’s list.

While the Wizards will do their due diligence with available free agents as they look to fill one or both of their open roster spots, adding Rose is unlikely at best, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Considering Tim Frazier went down with a nasal fracture during Saturday’s game against the Bulls and Tomas Satoransky took a hard fall late in the game, the Wizards will likely need to make a move to have a point guard ready for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks.

The original post is below.

Wizards head coach Scott Brooks recently indicated that he is interested in adding a veteran point guard. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Washington is interested in bringing the 2010-11 NBA MVP to the nation’s capital:

Rose most recently played for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season until he was traded to the Utah Jazz before the trade deadline last Thursday. The Jazz released him on Saturday and Rose will probably clear waivers. He averaged 9.8 points in 16 games for Cleveland this season.

There are some reasons why Rose could be a potential fit on the Wizards, even after suffering multiple injuries since his MVP season:

• Rose has historically been a player who can play the one-on-one game, which head coach Scott Brooks may want. That’s something that John Wall can do and he’s out for the foreseeable future. Tomas Satoransky isn’t keen on calling iso plays for himself. On top of that, Rose has remained a consistent scorer throughout his entire career, even after his injuries.
• Rose is just one season off from his 2016-17 season with the Knicks where he averaged 18 points per game and made 47.1 percent of his shots from the field. That’s better than any season John Wall had, for what it’s worth. Even this season, Rose shot over 43 percent from the field while Wall shot a little bit less.
• Rose could be a legitimate backup shooting guard to Bradley Beal as well given his uncanny ability to score points. There’s a legitimate need to get more production in the backcourt considering that Jodie Meeks hasn’t panned out.

There are many reasons why the Wizards shouldn’t be quick to sign Rose either. Here are the two reasons that come into mind:

• Tomas Satoransky has grown comfortable as the starting point guard since Wall was sidelined. He’s no Wall, but Satoransky has kept the Wizards afloat and played a major role getting Washington to a season-high five game win streak. I’m not sure why the Wizards want to break Satoransky’s confidence assuming Rose is a point guard with more “John Wall-ness” in him.
• Rose’s commitment to play has wavered in recent years. In 2014, as he was coming back from his initial batch of injuries, Rose mentioned that he wouldn’t play unless he was 100 percent healthy and was thinking long term. In a vacuum, this isn’t the wrong thing to say. But Rose just hasn’t showed the type of fire he showed early in his career with the Bulls. Rose had a bone spur earlier this season. Last season when he played for the Knicks, he left the team to go to Chicago without telling the team. If the Wizards give him a major role, then are they willing to put up with these risks?

On the one hand, the Wizards can use more reinforcements. They have extra roster space. However, I’m not sure if another point guard looking up Satoransky’s shoulder is the answer either.