The Miami Heat “Big Three” may be one of the greatest partnerships of All-Time. With four straight Finals appearances and two Championships in four years, it’s fair to call the trios time together a resounding success.
Interestingly enough, though, Wade, LeBron, and Bosh almost joined the Bulls instead back in 2010. On ESPN, Brian Windhorst recently explained why those plans ultimately fell apart…
(via ESPN)
“After two days of meetings, they thought they were in competitive position with Bosh and Wade,” Windhorst writes. “They were not as sure about James…Nonetheless…the Bulls got to work on finding a path to land all three. They tried to move [Luol] Deng to the LA Clippers, sources say, but were turned down. They talked to Toronto about a sign-and-trade for Bosh…to leave room to sign Wade and James.”
It might have also been Rose’s refusal to recruit that hurt the Bulls’ chances in the end.
“Rose…wasn’t deeply involved in the recruiting process…Joakim Noah, ended up as the primary player voice. Although Noah has a magnetic personality and developed into a star recruiter in his days at the University of Florida, he was not the franchise player. He also had an acrimonious relationship with James. Underscoring that, Noah called James that week, and James never called him back…Rose declined to be part of the pitch to James, instead recording a video.”
The trio ended up playing together in Miami and, well, the rest is history. Unfortunately for Bulls fans, it seems the team just didn’t do enough to pull off the acquisition of the stars.
Hopefully, next time they get that opportunity, they won’t let it slip.
