Getty LeBron James with Anthony Davis.
Throughout the years, NBA teams have used their star players to try and recruit other stars. At this point, it’s expected if players are hoping to build championship rosters. However, it doesn’t usually work out. Back when LeBron James was first a free agent, there were many teams vying for his services.
The Chicago Bulls were a rising team back in 2010 and a LeBron addition would’ve certainly turned them into legit title contenders. Derrick Rose was one of the best players in the league but needed a wingman. Obviously, the current Los Angeles Lakers star ended up going to the Miami Heat to play with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. In his new autobiography, Rose admitted that he was trying to help recruit LeBron to Chicago.
“I did the LeBron recruiting for Chicago,” Rose wrote, via Fadeaway World. “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.”
In LeBron’s first season with the Heat, they beat the No. 1 seed Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Rose Offers More Insight on Recruitment
While recruiting has become a good tool for players, not everybody likes doing it. Rose was one of the players who was accused of not liking to recruit. He gave his side of the story when it came to recruiting.
“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,” Rose wrote. “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.”
Some players are better at recruiting than others. If Rose wasn’t great at recruiting, there’s no reason he should’ve been thrust into that role.
Would LeBron Have Won a Championship in Chicago?
Had LeBron ended up in Chicago, the NBA would be very different. The Bulls had a really good team while he was in Miami but weren’t good enough to beat the Heat. If LeBron chose the Bulls, they more than likely would’ve won a championship or two. Before he started suffering major injuries, Rose was one of the best players in the world.
He just needed another superstar teammate to get over the hump. LeBron would’ve made things a lot easier for him. The Bulls have struggled to win consistently since the days of Michael Jordan but that clearly would’ve changed if LeBron picked the team.
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Former MVP Previously Tried to Recruit Lakers Star