Milwaukee Bucks, Derrick Rose Have Mutual Interest

By Noriel See, Christian Post Contributor Monday, July 17, 2017

Derrick Rose could be playing closer to home next season.

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd recently told NBC Milwaukee's Lance Allan that the former league most valuable player (MVP) shares a mutual interest with the Bucks. And according to ESPN's Chris Haynes, the Bucks are expected to set up a second meeting with the point guard. The two sides have yet to schedule a meeting as of the moment, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

Rose met the Bucks earlier this month and they have discussed the possibility of bringing him to Milwaukee to play with their young core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jabari Parker and Malcolm Brogdon. However, signing Rose isn't going to be easy because of their salary cap situation.

"Milwaukee is approximately $1.6 million over the tax. The Bucks have $7.6 million of the full mid-level exception available but can use only $4.4 million to sign a free agent. Exceeding a salary of $4.4 million would trigger the NBA hard cap and restrict the Bucks from exceeding salaries of $125.2 million. Currently, Milwaukee has a payroll of $120.7 million. In order to make a more lucrative proposition, the Bucks have to shed salary via a trade," Haynes said in his report for ESPN.

Getting a big-name free agent like Rose to sign with the team may seem like a coup for a small market team like the Bucks, but a lot of observers have noted that Rose seems like an odd fit because he's not exactly known for his perimeter shooting. Right now, the team needs a legitimate outside threat to open up the driving lanes, and Rose is not going to help them in that department.

The Bucks also don't really need to add a player who needs the ball in his hands to be effective. With Antetokounmpo doing most of the ball-handling duties, the team's point guards do most of their damage in catch-and-shoot situations. Brogdon has been really good off the ball and Matthew Dellavedova is a solid backup. Is Rose really much of an upgrade over those two?