Derrick Rose: Now We Know Why He Wasn’t Begging LeBron to Join Him in Chicago

Derrick Rose Would Have "Liked" To Have Played With LeBron James

That is all Derrick Rose reportedly said to LeBron James about playing in Chicago, he would "like" to play with him.

Via HoopsVibe.com Derrick Rose sent "the King" a text message during his "recruiting" period:

"In a Sports Illustrated article, Rose revealed that he sent James a text message saying: 'I'm just hitting you up to kill all the rumors that I don't want to play with you. I'd like to play with you. I just want to win."

That is about as simple as it gets. LeBron was basically given anything he wanted from any number of teams, including the calls from superstars, and that is all Rose came up with.

There are a number of good duos in the NBA right now, but none more prominent than LeBron and Dwyane Wade in Miami.

They have yet to catch the Bulls and remain three games back of the No. 1 seed at this moment in the Eastern Conference though.

In place of LeBron, the Bulls get by just fine with Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.

The three combine for approximately 53 points per night and the Bulls are only 20th best scoring team in the NBA.

Rose has done it all with injuries to his key guys for some time; Boozer missed the beginning of the season and Noah has only played in a little more than half the games so far.

What the Bulls lack in scoring offense, they make up for with stingy defense and rebounding.

LeBron's Heat are not far behind, ranking seventh in defense and ninth in rebounds, but they are the league's fourth worst unit in assists.

Rose and the Bulls on the other hand, are 11th in assists and this is clearly a stat shows the type of teamwork we can see with two elite superstars versus one good team.

Maybe Rose truly knew what he would have been getting himself into with a player like LeBron. Despite being extremely unselfish on the court, maybe the chemistry with two elite superstars who need the ball with the game on the line is not the answer.

After all, the best duos of all-time, had defined roles that they respected and won with.

Let's not call Rose a prophet just yet though, because the Bulls haven't won anything more than the Heat.

Rose may win the MVP this year, but LeBron could still get the last laugh in playoffs.

And for more on future NBA stars be sure to check out our latest mock draft.