According to recent Sixers news, the Philadelphia 76ers gave a compelling offer to the Chicago Bulls that would have landed them Michael Jordan
The Philadelphia 76ers could have landed Michael Jordan, according to new information from the man who drafted him, former Chicago Bulls General Manager Rod Thorn.
Speaking to ESPN Radio in Chicago, Thorn told David Kaplan that the Bulls had multiple offers for Jordan on draft day.
That’s to be expected. While two teams did make the wrong choice on draft night in 1984, many teams were enamored with the guard from the University of North Carolina and what he might be able to bring at the NBA level.
The man who drafted Michael Jordan, former Bulls GM Rod Thorn just told us on Kap + Co. on @ESPN1000 he had multiple offers on draft day 1984 for Michael Jordan. "We had really strong offers for Michael from both Philadelphia + Dallas. Plus other lesser offers. Couldn't do it."
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) April 21, 2020
It’s not surprising that there were offers out there for the Bulls and the third overall pick, especially once Jordan officially slid that far down the board. Philadelphia and the Dallas Mavericks, according to Thorn, were the two main teams with compelling offerings for the pick and the opportunity to select one of the league’s best players of all time.
A decision like this could have made the Sixers into a dynastical team. They were just two seasons removed from an NBA Finals win in 1983, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in Jordan’s rookie season.
That team was comprised of Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, Julius Erving, and Charles Barkley.
It’s likely the Sixers would have had to include at least one player in that deal, but imagining a young Jordan in Philadelphia playing next to any one of those players is enough to give any true Sixers fan goosebumps.
The Sixers missed the playoffs all throughout the time when Jordan and the Bulls were taking over the league, getting back in 1999 on the back of Allen Iverson.
Selecting Jordan would have completely changed the franchise as we know it, likely leading to the Sixers not winning the lottery in 1996 and selecting Iverson, one of the highest regarded players in franchise history.
Would that have been worth it? Probably.
If you can expect six titles like Jordan brought to the Bulls in the 90s, it’s always worth it, especially considering the Sixers have won just a single Finals game since Jordan was drafted.
But in this wacky butterfly effect universe we’re imagining, we probably also never get this clip:
Maybe I’m going stir crazy, but that makes me a little bit sad.