With speculation building the Chicago Bulls might be planning to target Carmelo Anthony is summer free agency, team vice president John Paxson tells ESPN he does not plan to ask or require star guard Derrick Rose to take part in the recruitment process.
"I personally would not have been comfortable doing that as a player," Paxson told ESPN. "That was me, so I expect and appreciate where Derrick is coming from. I would never tell a player, I don't think owner Jerry Reinsdorf or general manager Gar Forman would tell a player, 'Look, you have to do this.' If a player wants to do it, great. If he doesn't, that's his choice."
Paxson later conceded he felt the relationships Rose has built with many players across the league could come to benefit the team.
"He spends his summers in L.A. working out with a lot of guys and I know he's got great relationships with people," said Paxson. "I do firmly believe that when you're around people you can sell yourself just being the person that you are, and we all know Derrick is a terrific young man...I think at the end of the day people know who Derrick is and there are a lot of guys who would like to play with him."
Rose memorably passed on recruiting LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the summer of 2010 and recently reiterated his thinking hasn't changed.
"I don't recruit," said Rose. If anyone wants to play with me, I don't mind playing with, it could be anyone in the NBA, but as far as recruiting, I never did and never will."
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