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While the last few straggler free agents are inked to contracts the Lakers were in the market for a backup point guard to mentor 2nd overall pick Lonzo Ball.
One of the names that the purple and gold were linked to was former New York Knick Derrick Rose. The two sides did have a meeting before Rose ultimately decided to join the Cleveland Cavaliers on a one-year, $2.1 million veterans minimum contract. The Lakers did have the upper hand in terms of how much money they could offer Rose but according to Amin Elhassan of ESPN, they never put an offer on the table.
During a podcast with Jorge Sedano and Dave McMenamin, Elhassan had this to say about the Lakers interest with Rose:
“They [Cavaliers] signed him because no one wanted him, they weren’t in a bidding war. The Lakers talked to him, they could have [offered a contract], but they didn’t”
Then McMenamin asks to clarify if this was just speculation and Elhassan repeated that the Lakers did not make an offer to the soon-to-be 29-year-old.
Later on in the podcast, the talks switched to possible destinations Rose had to choose from and how slim they were. Elhassan again stated that the Lakers were not as seriously interested as Cleveland was.
“It was either that [Cleveland] or the Lakers, but the Lakers were not on the level of seriousness of the Cavaliers”
Instead of offering Rose a deal, the Lakers re-signed Tyler Ennis to a two-year deal. Ennis arrived in Los Angeles via trade with the Houston Rockets last season.
