First, LeBron James torched the Bulls. Then he massaged Chicago.
However, James, of course, didn't tip his hand on what he will do this summer, when he'll be the most coveted free agent in NBA history. Most speculation has centered on him re-signing with Cleveland. The Bulls will be one of several teams armed with maximum-salary-offering cap space.
"Chicago is a great city," James said. "It's one of the best cities you have in America. From lifestyle to sports town, it's a great city. I know that. You guys know that. Everybody knows that."
Photo: LeBron James has a laugh with the fans at the United Center. (Tribune / Chris Sweda)
James held court after scoring 13 of his game-high 29 points in the final 7 minutes, 1 seconds Friday night to send the Bulls to their 10th straight loss. At one point in the fourth quarter, James could be seen jawing with the Bulls' bench as he held the ball before driving.
"I was talking to whoever was telling me to shoot it," James said. "I said, 'You want me to shoot the ball?' They said yeah. I said, 'OK, I'll shoot it.' "
James said he respected Bulls fans for treating him with respect after witnessing Michael Jordan's exploits for so many years.
"They like the way I play," James said. "For these fans to see what they've seen, going back to 1984, when Jordan was doing what he was doing all the way to 1998, they've seen the top of the tier."
James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 15,000 points during the first quarter Friday night.
"It's very humbling," James said. "I put a lot of hard work into it. I was born with a God-given gift and ability and I take full advantage of it by doing what I do on the court. It's great to be in this position."
James did compliment the Bulls. Will he sign with them?
"Derrick Rose is an incredible talent and Taj Gibson and (Joakim) Noah are bright spots for them," he said. "They have a lot of great pieces in place when they're healthy. It's very difficult to play and win with four starters out like they've had."
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@JerryK they need to send the guy who atteneded the Lottery when the Bulls got the #1 pick. Maybe lighting will strike twice.
Pick up Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer. Then its Rose, Johnson, Deng, Boozer, Noah... with hinrich and Gibson coming off the bench. There aren't many teams that can stop that.
Why are you all bashing our team? Deng and Hinrich are bad contracts. Deng being the worst of the two because he cant stay healthy. Regardless we need to support our team. We have a very solid team in the sense you can take any one or two of the up coming free agents and plug them into our roster and we have a contender. While we are all aware of how poorly the past teams were handled by the front office the one thing the Bulls have always has is the support of their fans. Lets do our part for attracting the big name free agents and show support for our team and not pull a front o0ffice move. Some of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Go BULLS!!!
wade is a lame all he does is talk bad about chicago bosh is coming 2 chicago,, lebron is going to stay in cle,,, trade kirk,,trade gibson,, get ray allen ,,get bosh and we will be the hottest nba team,, rose,,allen,,deng,,bosh,,noah,,how bout that for a team,,,,,,,,,,wades head got big,,he cant win a championship by himself sorry duck shak is gone and you are nothing,,lebron ,,and rose,,for the next 10 years
THE BULLS IN THE NEXT 2OR 3 YEARS ARE GOING TO BE ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE NBA,,,BOSH IS COMING TO CHICAGO,,,DID YOU SEE HIM AND ROSE AT THE ALL STAR GAME,,ALL THEY DID WAS PASS TO EACH OTHER,,NOW ALL WE NEED IS A GOOD SHOOTING GUARD,,AND WE ARE READY,,IF WE CAN GET RID OF KIRK ,,,AND GET A SG,,WE WILL BE OK,,,,AND YES WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR,,I WOULD NOT FIRE DEL NEGRO,,THERE IS NOBODY OUT THERE THAT KNOWS THE BULLS LIKE HE DOES,,PLUS ITS NOT FAIR TO ROSE,HIM AN DEL NEGRO HAVE A GOOD BOND,,WADE IS NOT COMING TO CHICAGO SO STOP,,NOAH,,BOSH,DENG,ROSE,AND TRY TO GET RAY ALLEN,,AS A SG,,NEXT YEAR WE ARE GOING ALL THE WAY TRUST ME,,,TRADE KIRK,,AND GIBSON FOR A GOOD SG,,, BOSH SAID HE WOULD LOVE TO PLAY WITH ROSE,,,WADES HEAD GOT TOO BIG,,HE FORGOT WHERE HE CAME FROM,,MIAMI IS NOT YOUR HOME CUZ,,CHICAGO
Keith Southsider -- You derail your entire argument by saying Lebron is going to the Knicks, who have done what good as a franchise for the last 10-plus years? It's hard to imagine, but they are run even more poorly than the Bulls. Sure Mike Dan Tony was a great signing, however, I am sure he'd rather be coaching the Bulls right now.
I'd love to see James come to my hometown Bulls. Then I could go see him play the Thunder occasionally. Whether the Bulls have the organization Oklahoma City has remains to be seen. The locals (the nucleus that put together the great run of the Spurs) have done a pretty far job building around Kevin Durant.
What does MJ coming back have to do with anything? Does Bird go back to Boston every day....NOOO! He is in Indiana!....Everybody bustin on Rose he is killing himself every night for his fair weather fans and you murder him on these blogs...Gibson is a ROOKIE!!! He is putting up double- doubles the more experience he gets the more double-doubles he will have...Noah was 2nd in the WHOLE NBA in rebounding you get that by be sorry?!...If they draft a shooter (and this is a shooters draft) why wouldn't this be a good place for Lebron?
Good points Keith...Is does make a fan wonder why this club can't seem to ever attract any quality F.A.'s. You're also correct to question why the dis-interest by Reinsdorf with all the former superstars of this club.
I do think the current core group of Bulls players make it extremely difficult to attract a quality F.A., despite LeBron's nicitities. Throw in the fact they're not making the playoffs, and the F.A.'s clearly see that if winning championships is their goal, Chicago is not the place to be.
The discussion should be - WHY - won't major stars come here? Chicago is everything LeBron said it is, but we have painted ourselves in a corner. We have really - no ties to what made this team once a great team. Paxson was supposed to be that link back to the glory days, but it seems he is only interested in the likes of Deng and Kirk. These two are the face of the Bulls and the joke we have become to the league. Everyone else including ROSE is just someone to "help" them. Chicago will never be taken serious by free agents after their treatment of Jordan, Pippen and Jackson. The first name to come out of ANY free agent's mouth is MJ. To think that MJ is involved passionately in basketball - and is not connected to Chicago sends a cold but sobering 0message to him and his fans - "Thanks for the memories, but you are not welcome here". Lebron is a wonderful rare talent, but if he ever leaves it will be for NEW YORK, which he as verbalized. Chicago needs a huge overhaul. From the top all they way down.
He's saying all the right things and being politically correct.He wont sign here what do u expect him to say
Whoever is on the bench telling LeBron to shoot should be kicked off the team. I can't believe a player on the Bulls have the nerve to try and egg on the best player in the NBA. And Del Negro is letting it happen. The Bulls need a real coach and some new players preferably non-soft.
Maybe is we send Benny the Bull he'll come.