Report: Derrick Rose would prefer Bulls acquire Kevin Love over Carmelo Anthony

The Chicago Bulls interest in impending unrestricted free agent Carmelo Anthony has been one of the worst-kept secrets in basketball this season, dating back to Joakim Noah reportedly pitching Anthony on the idea in early March.

With Anthony set to officially opt out on Monday, rumors should continue to pick up, and speculation on the machinations of getting Anthony to Chicago will be commonplace.

However, having the ability to lure Anthony likely means the Bulls have the flexibility to add any top star. Point guard Derrick Rose may prefer that flexibility be used on Kevin Love instead of Anthony, according to New York Daily News.

From the report:

Carmelo Anthony has been getting quite a few recruiting calls from Joakim Noah over the past week, but according to people close to the Knicks star, he hasn’t returned one of them.
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But one of his teammates won’t be crushed. Derrick Rose hasn’t called Anthony once and isn’t expected to do any recruiting when the Bulls make their run at the Knicks’ top scorer in free agency.

According to sources close to Kevin Love, Rose’s preference is for the Bulls to work out a deal as soon as possible for Minnesota’s All-Star forward because he sees Love as more of a team player than Anthony. 

As Eye on Basketball points out, even if this is well-sourced, there's not a whole lot of news here. Love is a better basketball fit, he and Rose have been friends for a decade, and the Bulls could offer a pretty killer package for love centered around Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and/or a pair of first-round picks. But none of this is new.

In any case, the Bulls are in a strong position to improve their core this offseason.