Could Kobe Bryant really have been a Chicago Bull this season?

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune Bryant became so intrigued by the pitch of club chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and GM John Paxson after a July 6 meeting in Newport Beach, Calif., that he offered to visit Chicago on July 9.

The Bulls wanted to fly Kobe in on their private jet but were prevented from doing so by the league.  Bryant hasn't flown commercially since being arrested last summer for allegedly committing sexual assault in Colorado.

Teams are prevented from using private jets for free agent recruiting purposes, a rule the Bulls petitioned the league to circumvent and were declined.

"The fact he wanted to visit us was huge," Paxson said. "We exhausted every possible outlet to try to bring him in here."

Had Bryant made it to Chicago Paxson was set to use Michael Jordan to help recruit one of the league's best players, but unfortunately for the Bulls it never got that far.