It’s well known that the summer of 2010 was a very interesting one for the NBA. LeBron James and Chris Bosh were free agents and they were looking for a team to join where they could create a Big 3.
Among those teams, you had the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, but the Chicago Bulls also appeared to be a very interesting destination for the duo, especially knowing the good team they had at the Windy City. The Bulls took a couple of players to try to persuade James and Bosh to join them, including Derrick Rose.
The point guard, however, wasn’t interested in none of that recruiting process and even though he did what he had to do, he never felt right about it. In his autobiography, Rose recalls how that whole process played out, explaining he did the recruiting process but things just didn’t click for the Bulls and the free agents.
“I did the LeBron recruiting for Chicago,” Rose wrote. “It was a day after practice, and Bron and Chris Bosh and all of them, we got word — everyone heard it around the league — they were together on one of those banana boat things and were about to team up somewhere.”
After that, the current New York Knicks star felt betrayed by the Bulls’ front office. Rose said that they needed to protect him and explain that he was committed to this process, which didn’t happen. After things fell apart for the Bulls, reports saw the light saying Rose didn’t try to get LeBron to his team.
“Gar Forman, our GM, came to me with the people from the office about putting a video together for Chris Bosh, D-Wade, and Bron. I didn’t fight it. I did the video. I’m sure Bron and those guys saw it. Then this story came out that I wasn’t big on recruiting. Should I have to say that I recruited?”
“That’s where I’m coming from. It’s a lose-lose. I’m not comfortable saying I’m out there recruiting because I respect my teammates. Should players have to do that? It doesn’t seem right. When I saw the story was Derrick doesn’t want to recruit. I felt like, as my partner in this, the Bulls should have come out and said I’d done it. Like, ‘We got it. Chill. He cool.’ They didn’t.”
Rose would become the youngest MVP award winner the next season and he had to face LeBron and his Miami Heat in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. They could have gotten to that stage together but had to clash there after a failed recruiting process.
D-Rose was seen as a big menace for the Heat and just like Luol Deng recently stated, a lot of people believed the Bulls could have won a ‘chip with Rose leading them but injuries didn’t let him become the player he was expected to. LeBron and Bosh went to four Finals with the Heat, winning two titles.
