Cleveland Cavaliers guard Derrick Rose has left the team and is seriously re-evaluating his future in the NBA, sources tell ESPN's Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski.
The pair report that Rose's frustrations with continued injuries is causing him to ponder his desire to continue to play in the league. Rose has been non-communicative to multiple people close to him inside and outside of the Cavaliers in recent days, causing concern as to whether or not he will rejoin the Wine and Gold.
Rose, 29, has missed 11 of the Cavs' 18 games this season with an injured ankle. He first suffered the injury on October 20 in Milwaukee, when he landed awkwardly after a flagrant foul by Bucks center Greg Monroe. He missed four games initially, then returned and played five games before being sidelined again.
Rose was averaging 14.3 points per game for the Cavaliers.
The Cavs announced that Rose would be out for at least the next two weeks because of the ankle one week ago, and Rose then also was put in a walking boot.
"Just a jacked-up ankle," Rose told ESPN at the time. "I'm just trying to figure it out, bro. Right now, it's just a jacked-up ankle. Just sore. I'm getting a lot of treatment for it, and tonight will be my first time wearing a boot. So I'll wear this, for I don't know how long, to see how it helps."
One team source told ESPN of Rose: "He's tired of being hurt and it's taking a toll on him mentally."
When you consider that Rose has played in just 237 out of a possible 412 regular-season games since tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs, it's understandable why Rose might be discouraged.
UPDATE: McMenamin tweeted the following after Cavs Head Coach Tyronn Lue met with the media prior to Friday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena.
