His Familiarity With LeBron James

At this stage of LeBron James’ career, we know how much he values trust among his teammates.

LeBron has had a few players in particular that he clearly meshed with and trusted — James Jones, Udonis Haslem, and Mike Miller come to mind.

In the context of Derrick Rose, he has played with LeBron in the past, when their paths crossed in Cleveland as Rose was trying to re-establish himself.

That experience with Rose could go a long way toward convincing the Lakers to pursue the 2008 No. 1 pick.

In Rose, James knows what the Lakers would get, and Rose knows what it’s like to be a teammate of James.

If the Lakers acquire Rose, this connection could be among the reasons why a deal was consummated.