There’s a legendary summer from years past in which Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh were all free agents. That part shouldn’t be all that surprising as they were all part of the same draft.
What ended up sending shockwaves through the basketball world, however, was the fact that all three of them ended up on the same team. Going on to form what was known as the “Heatles” in Miami, the trio made four consecutive NBA finals appearances, winning two championships in the process.
Things could have worked out very differently, though, as the Chicago Bulls were an option at least where D-Wade and LBJ were concerned.
Wade revealed as much on the Knuckleheads podcast back in 2019, sharing some of what he discussed with James during their free-agency period.
First off, the three-time NBA champion admitted he never imagined he would ever play on the same team as LeBron. But the stars would align in 2010.
“I remember talking to Bron he was like, ‘Where your head at?’ I said, ‘My head is in winning, where your head at?’” Wade recalled. “He was like, ‘Same thing, let’s rock together.’ I’m like, ‘Cool! Let’s do it.'”
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Derrick Rose Made It Impossible For Wade & LeBron To Join The Bulls
It came down to which team they would play for. According to Wade, Chicago was on the top of both their lists as they had two max slots, a young Derrick Rose, and several other exciting pieces such as Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.
They ultimately decided that it might not work out with the Bulls because ball distribution would be a problem.
“But then it was like, ‘Me, you, and D-Rose? That’s a lot. Just one ball, we all need it. That may be too much.’” Wade added.
“But listen, we thought about it. Then we looked at New York. And when it came down to it, Miami was the only team with enough money to get all three of us. Every other team only had two max contracts. When it came down to it, we thought CB was the perfect match. And ultimately, bro, I just wanted to win.”
Fortunately for Heat fans, their team was able to get the money in place to sign all three All-Stars to lucrative deals. And the decision paid major dividends given the aforementioned.
