Report says the Chicago Bulls were close to signing a "Big 3" instead of Miami

The deal was close to happening.

© Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls last won an NBA title in 1998 and since then, they have been trying to recreate the magic they had with Michael Jordan. In 2010, it seemed like their wish could come true when reports surfaced that the Bulls were close to signing both LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

As fate would have it, both the King and Bosh signed on to play for the Miami Heat, forming a loaded "Big 3" with the Heat's resident superstar, Dwyane Wade. The trio would go on to lead the Heat to two NBA titles in four straight trips to the Finals. K.C. Johnson recently revealed how close the Bulls were to actually forming their own "Big 3" in the Windy City.

Close to happening

Speaking on the Bulls Talk podcast, Johnson shared how he reported that development, yet a lot of people doubted his story. Some even went as far as to call him an "idiot" for putting the development out there. But Johnson stuck to his guns, explaining:

"I was reporting it hard at the time, and everyone was calling me crazy saying it was made up. I was working at the Tribune at the time, I was well-sourced on that story," Johnson said. "It was legit close here. I got called an idiot a lot. People saying, 'oh, they hatched the plan at the Olympics and it was always going to be the Heat, and they were just playing the Bulls.'"

Crucial trade

Johnson went on to say that had the Bulls been able to send veteran forward Luol Deng to the Los Angeles Clippers, it would have paved the way for the aforementioned players to land in Chicago.

"In fact, it's now well-documented, if 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. Trust me on that one. It was just close to happening," Johnson shared.

Imagine LeBron, Wade, and Bosh teaming up with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah in the Windy City. It would have been an entirely different landscape for the NBA, and there's at least a chance it could have happened.