By Ben Gordon: Chicago Didn’t Pursue Me At All
July 3, 2009 – 11:00 am by Tas Melas
Much like Trevor Ariza leaving the Los Angeles Lakers for Houston, Ben Gordon wanted to feel wanted. He never felt the love from the Bulls despite giving them five solid years. It was never a great fit in Chicago simply because Ben and the Bulls never really saw eye-to-eye in terms of the type of player he is. The stuffy contract negotiations which spread out over multiple years is now finally over. The worst part of this story is the Pistons. Was this really Joe Dumars’ master plan? Trade Chauncey Billups so he could sign Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in the offseason? He must see something no one else does. Ben Gordon joined ESPN Chicago to discuss how fast Dumars convinced him, if the Bulls pursued him at all, and his chemistry Derrick Rose.
When did you commit to Joe Dumars that you’d sign with Detroit?
“Right after I spoke with Joe, on the first (of July). Just to hear how passionate he is about winning and the game of basketball – he exudes winning, and everything he talked about was trying to just build the team to win a championship. He convinced me pretty easily and it was a no -brainer for me.”
How hard did Chicago pursue you?
“They didn’t pursue me at all, they didn’t even make an offer. It was pretty much a one-man race.”
Did the organization show you enough love?
“As far as the organization giving me my respect, I really don’t know what they thought of me. When you go through the negotiations I’ve gone through, obviously, the writing’s on the wall.”
Did you function well with Derrick Rose or are you a better fit in Detroit?
“Personally, me and D-Rose, I thought we played well together. Our games are pretty different – I’m more of an outside shooter, he’s more of an attack player. I think we played well off of each other. Moving forward with Detroit, one thing Joe told me he wanted to create was that 3-guard offense that they used to have back in the ‘Bad Boy’ days when it was him, Isiah, and ‘The Microwave.’ I think with Rip, Rodney Stuckey and myself – we’re no Isiah, Joe, and Microwave but I think anytime you have three guards of that caliber, it makes it a tough matchup.”
Listen to Ben Gordon on ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago
Tags: Basketball, Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Detroit Pistons, NBA
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