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13 Years After LeBron James’ Shocker, Former Bulls Foe Spills the Beans on a Potential Blockbuster Trade: “I Was Recruiting Him”

Published 09/16/2023, 11:13 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Billionaire NBA legend LeBron James changed league history forever in 2010. After a pretty successful stint individually with the Cavaliers, the four-time NBA champion joined the Miami Heat with the hopes of winning a championship 13 years ago. However, there was a slight chance he could’ve joined another team. The team in question is the Chicago Bulls, the team where James’ GOAT rival Michael Jordan earned his laurels.

On a recent appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, a former Bulls star revealed some interesting details of the time the rumors of James joining the Bulls started floating around.

Former Bulls star was looking forward to LeBron James

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James shook the entirety of the sporting world, and the NBA world in particular, in 2010. Although he had a very successful stint with the Heat, the initial reactions were very negative.

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Interestingly, there was a slight chance the big three of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron could have played for the Bulls. Ahead of the four-time NBA champion’s move to South Beach, some rumors suggested the aforementioned. Talking on the Pardon My Take podcast, former Bulls star Joakim Noah revealed how he was looking forward to James joining the Bulls in 2010.

“I was recruiting him. I was trying to get him to come to Chicago. All those guys, Chris Bosh, DWade, you know, I think that the whole thing was great, just the battles against them”, said Noah. Ultimately, the move didn’t materialize. King James joined the Heat and won two of his four NBA championships playing for them. 

Was a move really on the cards?

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Dwyane Wade is an undisputed legend of the Miami Heat. However, he grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and it was the NBA Hall of Famer who proposed the move to Chicago. Eminent NBA Insider Brian Windhorst revealed that the three-time NBA champion met with the Bulls twice during free agency. Although the talks were intense, DWade played his cards cautiously.

via Getty

For this reason, the Bulls never took the deal very seriously. The Heat had the cap space and the sporting project, which lured Bosh and James to the team and it was the start of one of the greatest NBA dynasties ever.

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What were your thoughts on LeBron James’ move to the Miami Heat? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Abhinava Ghosh

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Abhinava Ghosh is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports with a wealth of experience covering the league. He has written over 1400 articles for EssentiallySports, showcasing his expertise in analyzing and reporting on NBA trade rumors, injury updates, and the ever-changing dynamics of the league. He had successfully covered the entire Kevin Durant trade saga at Brooklyn, which led to the basketball legend’s move to the Desert.
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Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja