Fans cannot believe that a failed Luol Deng trade stopped LeBron James and Dwyane Wade from joining Derrick Rose in 2010: "Deng……That sucks"

In 2010 NBA free agency, superstar forward LeBron James sent shockwaves around the league. This came after he announced his decision to form a new Big 3 alongside fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

Over his four seasons in Miami, the James-led Heat made four NBA Finals appearances, winning two titles (2012 and 2013). However, Miami’s Big 3 almost never formed as James and Wade reportedly almost joined the Chicago Bulls in 2010 free agency instead. In doing so, they would have formed a different Big 3 alongside Bulls star point guard Derrick Rose.

However, according to NBCS Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, a failed Luol Deng trade prevented the Bulls from having a chance to land Wade and James:

“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 that one,” Johnson said.

Following the report, fans had some entertaining reactions on Twitter. Many Bulls fans lamented the thought that their team missed out on the chance to sign LeBron James and Dwyane Wade:

“Deng … That sucks,” one fan said.

“Stop the pain,” another said.

Meanwhile, other fans pondered the what-if scenario of a James-Wade-Rose Big 3 in Chicago:

“That would’ve been crazy,” one fan said.

“Not sure how this would have been possible but Rose, Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Noah would have been the greatest team of all time,” another said.

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to the news:

Dwyane Wade said Chicago was one of his and LeBron James’ top free agency destinations

Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade

During an appearance on the “Knuckleheads” podcast in 2019, Dwyane Wade spoke about his and LeBron James’ 2010 free agency decisions. According to Wade, Chicago was at the top of their lists when it came to best free agency destinations:

“When we were trying to make a decision of what city we wanted to play in or what we wanted to be, we had to keep our options open,” Wade said.

“Chicago was on the top of both of our lists. They had two max contracts, and they had a young D-Rose. They had a Luol Deng, they had Noah, they had all these pieces. So, I’m like, ‘In Chicago, in one of the biggest markets?’

However, Wade said that he and James were unsure whether it would work playing alongside Rose as three ball-dominant stars:

“But then it was like, ‘Me, you, and D-Rose? That's a lot. Just one ball, we all need it. That’s maybe too much,’” Wade said.

Wade added that they still gave Chicago serious consideration. But in the end, Miami was the only team with enough cap space to sign them and Chris Bosh:

“But listen, we thought about it,” Wade said.

“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.”

Wade’s conversation about 2010 free agency starts at the 56:44 mark below: