Derrick Rose Didn’t Understand Why Bulls Didn’t Shoot Down Reports He Wasn’t Interested In Recruiting LeBron James In 2010: ‘I Did The LeBron Recruiting For Chicago’

In the summer of 2010, LeBron James was an unrestricted free agent. The NBA legend met with the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. 

LeBron left the Cavaliers for the Heat, but The King almost signed with the Bulls to play with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.

There were reports Chicago was close to getting LeBron and Dwyane Wade but that Rose’s lack of recruitment ultimately doomed the Bulls. 

However, in his autobiography, “I’ll Show You,” Rose revealed that he recruited LeBron to the Bulls.

Rose wrote that he didn’t understand why Chicago didn’t shoot down reports he wasn’t interested in recruiting LeBron when he made a recruiting video.

“I did the LeBron recruiting for Chicago,” Rose wrote. “It was a day after practice, and Bron and Chris Bosh and all of them, we got word — everyone heard it around the league — they were together on one of those banana boat things and were about to team up somewhere. Gar Forman, our GM, came to me with the people from the office about putting a video together for Chris Bosh, D-Wade, and Bron. I didn’t fight it. I did the video. I’m sure Bron and those guys saw it. Then this story came out that I wasn’t big on recruiting. Should I have to say that I recruited? That’s where I’m coming from. It’s a lose-lose. I’m not comfortable saying I’m out there recruiting because I respect my teammates. Should players have to do that? It doesn’t seem right.

“When I saw the story was ‘Derrick doesn’t want to recruit,’ I felt like, as my partner in this, the Bulls should have come out and said I’d done it. Like, ‘We got it. Chill. He cool.’ They didn’t.”

The Bulls probably should have told the media Rose made a recruiting video. It’s unclear why they didn’t and Rose to this day doesn’t know why they didn’t.

Rose won the MVP award during the 2010-11 season and guided the Bulls to the best record in the NBA. However, Chicago lost to LeBron and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals in five games.

During the 2017-18 season, Rose and LeBron were briefly teammates on the Cavaliers and Rose made sure he did everything he could to study LeBron.

In 2019 while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rose admitted that he spied on LeBron. 

“I seen how he took care of his body,” Rose said about LeBron. “And I’m trying to do the same here. I was kind of spying on him the entire time while I was there even though he didn’t notice. I was looking at everything that he did.

“You have to right? Looking at the master there. So I took everything in and I think I learned from him.”

Rose and LeBron are two of the greatest number one draft picks in NBA history. Rose has career averages of 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists, while LeBron has career averages of 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists. 

LeBron and Rose have combined to win five MVPs.