Derrick Rose Reportedly Refused to Recruit LeBron James to Bulls in 2010
By Scott Rogust
Before Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard dominated NBA free agency, there was LeBron James in 2010. After refusing to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James hit the open market, and nearly every team in the league tried to recruit him.
One of those teams was the Chicago Bulls, who were led by star point guard Derrick Rose.
During an appearance on Adrian Wojnarowski's "The Woj Pod," longtime NBA trainer Rob McClanaghan revealed that the Bulls wanted Rose to join them in their efforts to recruit James. As it turns out, Rose refused.
Full audio of The Woj Pod with NBA trainer Rob McClanaghan: https://t.co/kql3DA5LbY pic.twitter.com/wBYwTiBYUy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2019
McClanaghan stressed that it wasn't a matter of Rose refusing to play with LeBron. Rather, Rose felt that there was no need to hop on the team's jet and plead with James to join him. In his mind, if James wanted to join the Bulls, he would have, without Rose's insistence.
Chicago's pitch without Rose failed, as James chose to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. Ironically, the Heat advanced to the NBA Finals that year by defeating the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Derrick Rose reportedly refused to help recruit LeBron to the Bulls back in 2010 despite management wanting him to, per @RobMacNBA
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 1, 2019
(h/t @wojespn).
Granted, this didn't come from Rose, so this can be taken with a grain of salt. However, based off Rob McClanaghan's comments, if LeBron James really wanted to play on the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose felt there was no need for him to persuade him.