Former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose has been accused of not recruiting free agents during his time with the team, but on Tuesday, he said those accusations were unfounded.
In an interview prior to the Bulls’ preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rose insisted that he did try to recruit big name free agents, including LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade when they hit the market in 2010.
“I tried to. People always said I didn’t recruit. I tried to recruit. I put out a video,” he said. “But it wasn’t for me to say that. I felt like the organization was supposed to say that. And they didn’t.”
The Bulls pushed hard to land one of the big free agents in that massive class, sending representatives to meet with James and Wade as they tried to lure the stars to Chicago to form a super team.
Instead, all three players went to Miami, where they ultimately won two championships and appeared in four straight NBA Finals before James signed back with the Cavaliers in 2014.
Meanwhile, Rose never found his form again after missing out on those big names, suffering several knee injuries before being traded to the New York Knicks last summer.
