Carmelo Anthony: Derrick Rose recruited me to Bulls

Did Derrick Rose recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls?

That’s been a point of contention, though Rose reportedly worked out for Melo and said he talked to Melo. On the other hand, reports persist Rose just wasn’t that interested in pitching Melo.

Maybe Melo himself can clear this up.

Marc Berman of the New York Post:

During a meeting at a Chicago lounge, Anthony also said to his agent and Frazier: “D-Rose is tough. He even hit me [up]. I’ve been talking to him. Him and [Joakim] Noah. Noah’s more outgoing. But I’m glad we did them first.’’

“It came down to Chicago and New York,’’ Anthony said during the program. “Chicago was the one from Day 1 [and] was something I was very impressed with. They were looking for someone like me to come in and take them to the next level. So it was perfect.

Announcement: Pro Basketball Talk’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $250,000 Fantasy Basketball league for Friday’s NBA games. It’s $25 to join and first prize is $20,000. Starts at 7pm ET on Friday. Here’s the FanDuel link.

It seems pretty definitive to me Rose recruited Melo. As far as Rose’s shortcomings, a refusal to pitch free agents appears not to be one of them.

Maybe now we can get back to unfairly criticizing Rose for acknowledging he doesn’t want to play injured.