A coalition of Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James could have taken place even before 2017, as a once-MVP-caliber Rose tried to lure the two friends to the Windy City during his stint with his hometown Chicago Bulls.
Rose insists that despite the “non-recruiter” fame he earned after his somewhat meek comments about guys in free agency, he had put out a video trying to recruit James and Wade while the core of the Bulls still featured a young Taj Gibson, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah.
“Oh yeah, yeah, I tried,” Rose said after shootaround Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “People always said that I didn’t recruit. I tried to recruit. I put out the video, but it wasn’t for me to say that. I felt like it was for the organization to say that.”
The now-29-year-old guard affirmed that he gave the video to the team’s front office, who at the time seemed unwilling to change his media perception of a star who didn’t like recruiting other players.
“[The Bulls] didn’t say anything about it,” Rose said. “They sent it; I don’t know if they really actually looked at it or played the video, but I made the video, but at the time it really wasn’t for me to say that.”
Chris Sweda | Chicago Tribune
Rose was seen as unwilling to recruit other players during that time, given his often un-engaged in free agency conversations.
“I’m not going to do that,” Rose said at the time when asked about trying to persuade guys to come to Chicago. “If you want to come here, come here, but it’s not up to me to make that decision. I’m not paying them.”
Wade noted he thought he’d play alongside Rose in two different occasions, but this one might be his actual chance to make that a reality.
“From my standpoint I thought there was two times I might play with D-Rose,” said Wade. “I thought the Miami Heat was getting the first pick in 2008. I thought we was going to play with D-Rose. Didn’t get that one. Then in 2010 came an opportunity and that didn’t happen. And then the time when you least expect it, it happens.
“That’s the league we play in. I just love getting to know him, love how he looks, how comfortable he looks here, the way he’s playing right now. We’re thankful to have him, especially with [Isaiah Thomas] being out, to have a guy like D-Rose to step in and be the starting point guard, how many teams have that luxury?”
Now that Rose and Wade have been announced as starters for Tyronn Lue’s team, the trio will finally get the chance to play together, even if it’s a few years after they hoped it would take place.