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LeBron James Contacted Derrick Rose In 2010 To Team Up With Him
LeBron James has a reputation for switching teams and recruiting high-caliber players as teammates. While there have been many instances in regard to that, the most popular and controversial one that sticks out – LeBron’s 2010 free agency move to leave his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat, which was announced during a television special called ‘The Decision’.
But before teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach, LeBron originally entertained the idea of teaming up with Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose in Windy City. As reported, LeBron placed a phone call to Rose shortly after the Cavaliers were eliminated in the 2010 NBA Playoffs.
The James phone call to Rose was mentioned by ESPN reporter Scoop Jackson and confirmed by a league source. Rose has been taking things slowly since the Bulls season ended with a first-round loss to Cleveland, but he visits the Berto Center on occasion. The source said the James-Rose conversation did not last very long.
The Bulls will have roughly $20 million in cap room this summer, enough to sign the two-time MVP outright. They’re often mentioned as James’ best chance to win right away, since he could step into a lineup with Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.
James will have other attractive options. New York has enough cap room to pair him with another big-time free agent such as Bosh. Miami could offer a unique pairing with all-star Dwyane Wade.
Notably, in the 2010 playoffs, just before the Cavaliers faced the Boston Celtics who defeated them in the second round, the Cavaliers faced off against the eight-seed Chicago Bulls, who were led by a 21-year old Derrick Rose, in the first round.
The series wasn’t close at all and eventually ended in just five games, but the young Chicago point guard still stood out and held his own, averaging 26.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game on 45.6% shooting. This was more than enough proof for LeBron to make that phone call.
“Word is, James said he likes Rose’s game, likes his team, and would welcome the chance to play together,” wrote Mike McGraw of the Herald.
LeBron and Rose had quite a few playoff battles in the East over the course of their careers, with LeBron’s team prevailing in every playoff series.
Years later, in 2018, the two players then finally played together with the Cavaliers, who just came off a finals defeat against the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, granted that Rose was already plagued by injuries, his Cavaliers tenure didn’t last long as he was traded to the Utah Jazz prior to the trade deadline.
