(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
In 2010, LeBron James rocked the basketball world by choosing to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of teaming up with fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.
Although James made it quite a spectacle and promised things that the Heat weren’t able to live up to, namely seven championships, Miami instantly became the talk of the league and the team to beat in the NBA as long as these three players stayed together.
In four years, the Heat made four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, splitting those appearances to win two NBA titles at the expense of Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder and Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs.
Even though this was an incredible stretch for the Heat, things could’ve ended up much different for James and company had the Chicago Bulls traded Luol Deng to the Los Angeles Clippers, according to Bulls insider K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, via NBACentral.
A failed Luol Deng trade reportedly prevented Chicago from signing Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh back in 2010, per @KCJHoop
“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… pic.twitter.com/RLnxFNcxp9
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 16, 2023
If this is indeed true, that would’ve drastically changed the future for the league and all three of these superstars, as there’s no telling if it would’ve worked in Chicago and, if it did, how long they would’ve been able to sustain their dominance in the Eastern Conference.
Sadly enough, the Bulls still haven’t been able to sufficiently rebound in the post-Michael Jordan era.
This move would’ve resurrected the team and likely resulted in a few more championship banners hanging in the rafters at the United Center.
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