There was a lot of controversy surrounding Derrick Rose’s involvement or lack thereof in helping to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Chicago Bulls.

Rose is not the typical star of today that’s buddy-buddy with the other stars.  There were reports that he would not participate in the Bulls pitch to Anthony.  That didn’t mean Rose didn’t want Anthony in Chicago, it was actually quite the opposite.  Rose wanted Anthony to join him and even went out of his usual character and made a small pitch.

Chicago was the first stop on Anthony’s free agency tour.  Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and star player Joakim Noah were very active in trying to convince Anthony to join them.  There was some discrepancy as to what Rose’s involvement was, but a later report stated that he had a conversation with Anthony in the Bulls locker room.

While practicing with Team USA, Rose revealed what he said, c/o ProBasketballTalk:

“That if he was to come, that the game would be easy,’’ Rose said. “I don’t know how easy but of course it would be easy. And that we wanted him. Just plain and simple, we wanted him to come. He decided to go somewhere else. But it’s no hard feelings. I can’t get mad at the decision he made. He’s a grown man.’’

Rose said he was disappointed that Anthony chose to stay in New York, but he also understood — this isn’t just about what happens on the court.

“If you put yourself in that decision, that’s a hard decision,” Rose said. “You got your family to think about. You got money to think about. Not to say you should think about money. But when you’re talking about millions and millions of dollars, you can’t just put that behind you. So I’m not mad with the decision that he made and I wish him nothing but the best.’’

Joining the Bulls would have given Anthony a chance to team up with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to form their own “Big 3″.  It was also believed by many that that was his best chance to win now.  Instead Anthony chose to re-sign with the Knicks in a five-year, $124 million deal.  Anthony maintains that his decision was not money motivated and he believes in the Knicks chances at title contention.  While many would disagree, I guess we all have to just wait and see.

– Shaina Auxilly (@Shay_Marie)