Veteran coach Tom Thibodeau is leading the charge in hopes of landing free-agent forward Carmelo Anthony in a Chicago Bulls uniform.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thibodeau has already reached out to and spoken with several coaches who have previously worked with the New York Knicks free agent forward.
''I even told Tom that there may be days he will want to blow his own head off when it comes to Melo's defense, but he keeps saying he knows he can make it work,'' one coach told The Sun-Times. ''It's not that Carmelo can't play defense, it's just how often. And he knows every trick in the book on getting around that.''
Former league MVP Derrick Rose and All-Star center Joakim Noah have also reportedly been a part of the league's No. 2 overall scorer's recruitment, with each of them reportedly sending messages to Anthony's camp that they believe his arrival could signal big things for the organization.
''There's no question the Bulls would be better with Anthony, with or without his defensive inconsistencies,'' the source added. ''As I told Tom: 'You're in the East. Remember, you're in the East.' ''
Even with Rose playing in just 10 games this season before going down with yet another knee injury and the team dealing veteran forward Luol Deng to Cleveland at the trade deadline, the Bulls still won 48 games this year and qualified as the conference's No. 4 seed.
Multiple media outlets have reported the Bulls are pushing the idea of a sign-and-trade with the Knicks that would include the expiring contract of veteran forward Carlos Boozer and perhaps some combination of their two first round picks in this week's NBA draft.
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