LeBron James is considered one of the greatest players of all time and he was very close to joining the Chicago Bulls in the summer of 2010. The Bulls had a pretty formidable team heading into the 2010-2011 season, with players such as Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and more. That team managed to finish first in the East that season but you have to wonder, what if LeBron joined that team?
With LeBron on his way out from Cleveland and entering free agency. Every team in the league was after the generational star. The Bulls were a part of the LeBron James sweepstakes. Although he signed with Miami, I don’t think people realized how good of a chance the Bulls had of landing the star.
During The Knuckleheads Podcast with former NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, Dwyane Wade made it clear that teaming up with LeBron, Rose, and Noah on the Bulls was on the table.
"“We loved the city of Chicago. It’s a great market as well. Obviously, the sunny sun of Miami is great, too. We had two great choices. It pretty much boiled down to what we felt we could build”."
Looking back at what almost could have been, it is mindboggling to think about what the Chicago Bulls would have accomplished in the past couple of years. Considering that the Bulls have not made a finals appearance since the Jordan era. Bulls fans would have loved to see LeBron in a Chicago Bulls uniform and he would not have come alone, as Chicago had enough cap space that summer to sign two max-level free agents, including either Wade or Chris Bosh.
LeBron James would have made the Chicago Bulls immediate championship contenders.
If ” The Decision” landed in favor of the Chicago Bulls, I believe there may have been several championship parades within the past decade. The amount of talent already on the roster and the addition of several superstar players would have brought the Bulls over the edge. Obviously, the Bulls would have to let go of several pieces on their original roster but if a championship is in play, then you have to do whatever it takes.
It is thrilling to think of the endless possibilities of what could have been. The fact that the Bulls were so close to potentially shifting their franchise’s trajectory has to still rub some front office executives the wrong way to this day.
In the end, it turned out to be the best decision for LeBron’s career and others. Bulls fans were blessed enough to witness peak Derrick Rose and a Bulls team that showed a lot of fight throughout the season. I’m sure Bulls fans would have enjoyed celebrating several championships in the 2010s but they have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming season. I would not be surprised if Chicago gets its long-awaited championship parade after all.