Prior to Derrick Rose making the decision to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a one-year, $2.1 million deal earlier this week, the Los Angeles Lakers were the other team in hot pursuit of his services.

Los Angeles had met with him last week in a sitdown that lasted approximately three hours. During an interview on Thursday morning on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka revealed that after he spoke with Rose, his intentions at this point of his career were very clear.

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“We had some really good meetings with Derrick and BJ Armstrong. Coming out of those meetings it was clear that Derrick felt like this juncture in his career he wanted a shot to win a title next year. He just wanted to be on a team that was chasing. I think that tilted the scale toward the Cavaliers, but I think it was a great process with him. I think he’s going to have a really really strong year.”

This sentiment was also echoed by both Rose and Cavaliers new general manager Koby Altman. The 28-year-old decided to bypass a larger contract offer from the Lakers worth $4.3 million next season for a chance to win an NBA title.

Cleveland does provide him the best opportunity to earn his first championship given their current track record of coming off three straight trips to the NBA Finals. This included cruising through the Eastern Conference with a 12-1 record in this year's playoffs.

Regardless of what happens with Kyrie Irving, Rose also has an opportunity to latch onto to a significant role with the Cavaliers next season. He is coming off a productive year with the New York Knicks where he averaged 18.0 points on 47% shooting from the field, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 32.5 minutes per game.

In essence, this was just the best landing spot for Rose to pursue an NBA title next season.