The year 2010 marked a turnaround in LeBron James‘ career when he finally decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers after seven years. He joined the Miami Heat organization and teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, winning multiple NBA championships. However, the duo of LeBron and Wade earning $29,50,000 in 2010-11 would be playing alongside Derrick Rose in Chicago if not for a failed trade 13 years ago.
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Despite all his efforts, LeBron could not win a championship with the Cavs, who drafted him in 2003. The organization could not build a championship roster around LeBron, leading to him requesting a trade. He received a lot of flak for his decision from the fans and media alike.
Wade, on the other hand, was also entering free agency and was rumored to leave the Heat. Despite a terrific 2009-10 season, the Heat did not get through the first round of playoffs. This raised questions about Wade’s future with the team. However, with the efforts of the Miami front office, the two 2003 draft picks decided to combine forces with Chris Bosh to build a ‘Big 3’ in Miami.
LeBron and Wade almost teamed up for the Chicago Bulls
The ‘Big 3′ assembled in Miami may not have happened if a trade by the Chicago Bulls organization had not failed. According to the Chicago Bulls reporter, K.C. Johnson, the LeBron James and Dwayne Wade duo could have teamed up with Bulls’ star Derrick Rose to form a championship team. In a tweet by ‘Bulls Talk‘, the reporter said the following:
“It was legit close here. Trust me! I got called an idiot a lot and said – they hatched the plan at the Olympics and it was always going to be Heat. But that’s not accurate. In fact it’s not well documented. If the the Bulls were able to trade Luol Deng to the Clippers, which they had talks about doing, that ‘Big 3’ would have been in Chicago.”
On the latest Bulls Talk Pod, @KCJHoop breaks down how close the Bulls were to signing LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the summer of 2011. #BullsNation
🎥: https://t.co/7Tlc9QVMoi
🎧: https://t.co/DHGCMw8M5r@drivetoyota pic.twitter.com/WNqPRgFgDJ— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) August 16, 2023
The Bulls tried to clear cap space to trade for LeBron and Wade, but the deal fell through, and they ended up getting role players. Despite the trade not happening, Chicago had a dream season, finishing first in the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 record. They went on to reach the Conference Finals, where the Miami Heat eliminated them.
In 2016, when LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the franchise tried to trade for Dwayne Wade and offered a measly $3,500,000. Wade declined the offer quoting that he wasn’t ‘ring-chasing’ and could never take the offer.
How did the ‘Big 3’ fare for the Miami Heat?
In 2010, the city of Miami was pumped with a new life as the three superstars combined forces to win NBA championships for the Heat franchise. They played together for four seasons during which they won two championships while reaching the finals four times.
In the first Finals appearance in 2011, the Heat lost to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. They would come back to win two consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013 before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
