12 People who turned their backs on the Bulls

11. Carmelo Anthony

The Chicago Bulls, like every other team in the Eastern Conference, found it difficult to get past the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. James and the Heatles presented an unfair advantage, due to the assembling of The Big Three, which included James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

The Bulls ran into Miami twice in three postseasons and the result was the same, as it ended in defeat for Chicago. James changed teams in 2014, returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers and ran into Chicago in the postseason yet again, leading to the same result.

The Bulls did their best and took Cleveland to six games, but James and Kyrie Irving were just too much to overcome. Carmelo Anthony could've made all the difference for Chicago, however.

Melo was unsure of whether to rejoin the Knicks, as he mulled what his best move would be. According to the future Hall of Famer, he was going to join the Bulls' star duo of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, but backed out in the final hour.

"I was going to Chicago. Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, I was there, right? I was there," Anthony said. "And then I started getting whispers behind the scenes. Yo, look, this person ain't gonna be there. It ain't really right. This and that. It was all of that started to come up in the midst of my decision-making. I wasn't gonna let anything cloud that. I met with New York (Knicks) last. Like, I think it was the last team I met with because I knew that I was ready to move on from that situation because of what I was dealing with and going through in New York."

Melo got the bag from the Knicks, but never had a reasonable shot at a title throughout his deal. Ultimately, him turning his back on the Bulls backfired and hurt both sides.