Since the departure of Michael Jordan in 1998, and the subsequent breaking up of the Bulls dynasty, the franchise has yet to find similar success. These past few decades, for them, had been mired in doubt, inconsistency, and underwhelming play.
Perhaps their biggest beacon of hope came in 2008 when they drafted Derrick Rose with the no. 1 overall pick. And while Rose was (and still is) a really good player, his injuries hijacked his career and he eventually left the Bulls in 2016. Moreover, he apparently wasn’t even Chicago’s first choice that year, either.
According to a report by Chad Ford of ESPN.com, the Bulls tried to package the 2008 No. 1 pick in a trade offer for Heat star Dwyane Wade.
“The Chicago Tribune has reported that the Bulls could attempt to use the first pick in the draft to acquire Dwyane Wade.”
Obviously, Wade would have changed the game for them. At the time, he had just come off a season in which he averaged 24.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game on 46% shooting. He was a bonafide superstar who might have helped attract other free agents as he did for the Heat in 2010.
Obviously, the Heat weren’t willing to give him up and the deal never went through. While Rose is a good player, it’s fair to say he did not yield the desired results for Chicago.
In the end, all we can do is ask ourselves “what if?” With “The Last Dance: previewing the best of the Bulls, we’ve been seeing their worst for quite some time now. It’d have been really nice to watch them dominate again.
