Barely a week has passed since LA Lakers won the NBA title and the organization is already looking into making moves that would help them defend it. According to the Heavy’s Sean Deveney, the Lakers are likely to pursue a trade for Detroit Piston’s point guard Derrick Rose.
Lakers already tried to get Rose around the February deadline, but they couldn’t work out a deal with the Pistons. Various scenarios were mentioned at the time, including one that would see Lakers deal Alex Caruso and a draft pick to Detroit, but the deal never moved past exploratory talks.
This time around, however, the two sides are “much more likely” to make a deal. One NBA general manager told Deveney that circumstances changed, and it’s in both teams’ interest to try and get on the same page.
Pistons are in the full rebuild and would like to give their young guys a chance and see where they stand. Having Derrick Rose on board surely helps from a veteran leadership standpoint, but he could bring back some assets that the team could use during rebuilding. Rose himself would probably be interested in the move, as he is at the point of his career when he would like to play on a contending team rather than miss out on playoffs for the next two or three years.
Lakers, on the other hand, know that they face a big challenge if they want to repeat. Their bench was already thin during this championship run and could be even thinner with Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope opting out of their deal. By getting Rose, they could fill in the void while having a legitimate starting option in case of injuries.
After several years of injury struggles and inconsistency, Rose has bounced back to rediscover his touch. He played 50 games with the Pistons in 2019/20, averaging 18.1 points and 5.6 assists.
