When Tom Thibodeau was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls in the 2010’s, Carmelo Anthony thought about signing to play with this team.
Back in the day when he was starring for the New York Knicks in the early-to-mid 2000’s, future Hall-of-Fame forward Carmelo Anthony was one of the biggest studs at his position around the entire NBA. And the Chicago Bulls were a frequent foe of Melo and the Knicks, when both traditional big market teams were at or near the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference on a pretty consistent basis.
Oh how things have changed since then.
The Bulls and the Knicks were two of the worst teams in the East over the course of the last three seasons. The Bulls are now going on a three year streak of missing the playoffs, and the Knicks are on a seven year streak without getting into the postseason. Maybe this trend will be reversed soon, but neither roster is particularly chocked full of talent or individual stars.
About the biggest star that either team has to boast at the moment is the Bulls 25-year-old 6-foot-6 shooting guard Zach LaVine. But maybe someone like former Duke Blue Devils wing RJ Barrett could start rising to stardom for the Knicks, or former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White for the Bulls.
Anyhow, it is interesting to look back to see what could’ve been for a team like the Bulls over the course of the last decade. The Bulls did miss out on a ton of star free agent targets throughout the 2010’s, most notably guys like Melo and LeBron James.
The Bulls weren’t able to sign Melo in the mid-2010’s when he was thinking about leaving the Knicks. He wound up sticking around in NYC to play a few more seasons with that team. But there was apparently traction that Melo had with former Bulls head coach (now with the Knicks) Tom Thibodeau.
In a conversation with Ian Begley of SNY on “The Putback” this weekend, the discussion of Melo’s thoughts on joining the Bulls in free agency more than five years ago came up. Here’s what Begley had to say on the matter in this conversation.
"Carmelo was really considering going to the Bulls when Thibodeau was coaching them in his free agency summer with the Knicks. It was Knicks, Bulls, Knicks, Bulls. And I was told at least he kept changing his mind. So I think because of that he likes the idea of playing for Thibodeau."
Now that Melo had somewhat of a resurgence in his return to the NBA this season with the Portland Trail Blazers out West, could he get another shot with a former team of his?
This conversation with Begley also mentioned that there is a certain possibility that he winds up with the Knicks for a second stint after they hired Thibs as their next head coach. That would be a fun way for Melo to potentially round out his NBA career.
In 58 games played during the 2019-20 regular season with the Blazers (all of which he started in), Melo was much better than he ever was as a member of the Houston Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 15.4 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks. Melo shot 43.0 percent from the field, 38.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Melo actually did end up with the Bulls for a very brief amount of time last season. But he would wind up getting bought out after the Bulls made a trade with the Rockets essentially for cash considerations.