LeBron James and Dwyane Wade contemplated joining the Chicago Bulls in 2010.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh shocked the NBA after forming a Big 3 with the Miami Heat in 2010. The Heatles went to four straight NBA Finals and ended up winning two titles in 2012 and 2013.
However, James and Wade considered other destinations before joining the Heat. Wade revealed the Chicago Bulls were an option. But considering there was a young Derrick Rose there, the ball distribution would become an issue.
“I sit here with you guys and I promise, I never thought me and LeBron would play together,” Wade said in a 2019 episode of the Knuckleheads podcast. “I remember going to my agent’s office and he was like, ‘Yo, LeBron and Leon–at the time that was his agent–they want to get on a call with us. ’I’m like, ‘Okay.’
“I remember talking to Bron he was like, ‘Where your head at?’ I said, ‘My head is in winning, where your head at?’ He was like, ‘Same thing, let’s rock together.’ I’m like, ‘Cool! Let’s do it.'”
Wade then answered if he and James thought about joining another team and why they finally joined the Heat.
“When we was trying to make a decision of what city we wanted to play in or what we wanted to be, we had to keep our options open,” Wade continued. “Chicago was on the top of both of our lists. They had two max contracts and they had a young D-Rose. They had a Luol Deng, they had Noah, they had all these pieces. So I’m like, ‘In Chicago, in one of the biggest markets?’
He added: “But then it was like, ‘Me, you, and D-Rose? That’s a lot. Just one ball, we all need it. That maybe too much.’ But listen, we thought about it. Then we looked at New York. And when it came down to it, Miami was the only team with enough money to get all three of us. Every other team only had two max contracts. When it came down to it, we thought CB was the perfect match. And ultimately bro, I just wanted to win.”
A superteam of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Derrick Rose would have surely ended the championship drought for the Chicago Bulls. The city has been aching for a ring since 1998 when Michael Jordan led the team to its sixth NBA title.
But as Wade mentioned, the ball distribution would have become a major issue for the. Ultimately, James and Wade’s decision to join the Heat paid off dividends.
Derrick Rose Admitted That He Tried To Recruit LeBron James To The Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history when he won the trophy in 2011. Rose averaged 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.7 assists to become the league’s youngest MVP at just 22 years old.
But prior to the history season, Rose apparently tried to recruit James to the Bulls. No, we are not making this up. Instead, the former Bulls superstar admitted it in his autobiography ‘I’ll Show You.’
“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.”
A LeBron James and Derrick Rose duo during the prime of their respective careers would have been unstoppable. They did play together for 16 games during the 2017-19 NBA season but for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Moreover, Rose averaged a meager 9.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. By that time, Rose was out of his prime and had dealt with multiple potential career-ending injuries.
