On the Bulls Talk podcast, NBC Sports Chicago's Tony Gill, Jason Goff and K.C. Johnson discussed the summer of 2010, when the Bulls courted Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Johnson recycles reports he made at the time about the Bulls having a legitimate shot at signing all three.
If that had happened, what would this franchise look like?
"I was reporting it hard at the time and everyone was calling me crazy saying that it was made up," Johnson said. "I was working at the (Chicago) Tribune at the time. I was well-sourced on that story. It was legit close here. It was legit close here trust me on this one.
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"I got called an idiot a lot then saying 'Oh they hatched the plan at the Olympics' and 'It was always gonna be the Heat and they were just playing the Bulls.' NO! That's not accurate. In fact, the Bulls tried, and is now well documented that if the Bulls had been able to trade Luol Deng to the Clippers, which they had talked about doing, that Big 3 would have been in Chicago trust me on that one.
"It just was close to happening. And when it didn’t, it’s well documented now the Bulls pivoted and did Carlos Boozer and a bunch of great role-playing depth and kicked the Heat’s butts until it mattered in the Conference Finals."
Unlike many teams around the league, the Bulls didn't have the cap space to inhale all three players, according to Johnson. That's why they talked about trading Deng, who earned two All-Star nods after this summer, elsewhere to make room for all three.
Johnson also mentioned on the podcast Wade's camp requested a second meeting with the Bulls to discuss the matter. That's when gears shifted, and matters started getting serious.
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