The Chicago Bulls were a losing franchise before Michael Jordan walked in and changed everything in 1984. But there was a chance that they might never have acquired Jordan in the first place.
The Bulls had the 3rd overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft with no chance of getting Hakeem Olajuwon. At that time, it was widely thought that a guard couldn’t lead a team to greatness without an elite big man. And so the pick that would become Michael Jordan was almost traded by the Chicago Bulls.
Philadelphia 76ers reportedly wanted to trade Julius Erving for Michael Jordan, but the Bulls’ GM didn’t want to make this deal.
“I thought I had a deal with Jonathan Kovler (then the principal owner) of the Bulls for the third pick,” the Sixers owner Fred Katz told Pat Williams, once the Sixers general manager, in an interview for “Pat Williams’ Tales of the 1982-83 76ers (via Chicago Tribune).
“Rod Thorn (then the Bulls’ general manager) killed that one and took Michael Jordan. I would have made that deal.”
Julius Erving was 34 at the time and one of the most storied players of his era. He had already won a championship and was three years out from being MVP of the league. It would have been a huge get for the Chicago Bulls, but Thorn chose to draft Jordan instead and the rest is very much history. It was the perfect decision.
Chicago Bulls Considered Five Or More Trade Packages For Michael Jordan
The Chicago Bulls may have found some success by trading Michael Jordan away, but it would have been nothing close to what they achieved with him. It’s hard to picture Jordan as anything other than a Bull, but the team reportedly considered four packages before the draft and one in 1988 that was wild.
Chicago Bulls rejected five offers and trade packages for Michael Jordan:
1. Philadelphia 76ers offered Julius Erving (1984)
2. Philadelphia 76ers offered the No. 5 Draft Pick in 1985, Andrew Toney And Clemon Johnson (1984)
3. Seattle SuperSonics offered Jack Sikma (1984)
4. Los Angeles Clippers offered Terry Cummings (1984)
5. Los Angeles Clippers offered ‘anything you want’ – Any combination of five players or draft picks (1988)
Despite receiving so many offers, some truly wild ones too, the Chicago Bulls decided to draft Michael Jordan and keep him too. This resulted in six NBA championships for the franchise, along with becoming one of the most recognizable sports teams in the world. Rod Thorn did the right thing, and the rest, as they say, is history.
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