The 2010 NBA offseason is one of the what-ifs for the Chicago Bulls. It was one of the best free agent classes ever, as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer were all coming off expiring deals.
The Bulls were in a great position to add an impact player to their roster, which was ready to take that next step. Tom Thibodeau was taking over as head coach from Vinny Del Negro and the team was ready to ascend to new heights.
The Bulls came away with Boozer from that free agency class, adding the high-scoring power forward to a lineup that had Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. However, they were very close to obtaining the Big 3 that ended up heading to South Beach, elevating the Miami Heat to the elite teams in the NBA.
According to K.C. Johnson on NBC Bulls, it was Chicago who had the deals in place to acquire that Big 3. However, it was trade negotiations involving Luol Deng falling through that led to the plans changing.
“If the Bulls were able to trade Luol Deng to the Clippers, which they had talks about doing, that Big 3 would’ve been in Chicago. Trust me on that one,” Johnson said.
The rest, as they say, is history. James opted to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join Wade on the Heat and Bosh followed, leaving the Toronto Raptors. It has been reported that Wade and Bosh were thinking of going to Chicago together, but once James was involved, the Heat were the only team that could make such a move come to reality.
The Bulls had an incredible 2010-11 season, going 62-20 and earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they were eliminated by the Heat, who advanced to take on the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, where they lost in six games.
That would be the closest Chicago has ever gotten to a title since the Michael Jordan era, as Rose’s knee injury the following season lowered the team’s ceiling. Without their MVP leading the way, the Bulls weren’t able to compete with the best in the conference, as the Heat made the NBA Finals four straight years, winning twice.
What could have been for the Bulls had they landed Wade, James and Bosh, not the Heat. That trio along with Rose and Noah would have ran not only the Eastern Conference, but NBA, for as long as they were together.
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