Philadelphia 76ers: Potential draft trade for Michael Jordan

What if the Philadelphia 76ers were able to land Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft? What would have that trade looked like?

Former NBA executive Rod Thorn recently revealed to David Kaplan of ESPN Chicago 1000 AM that when he was general manager of the Chicago Bulls, that the Philadelphia 76ers wanted to trade for the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft that became Michael Jordan.

Thorn should be taken at his word as a longtime executive, most recently for the Sixers in 2010-2012. Apparently both the 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks made “strong” offers for the pick. Sadly, Thorn didn’t reveal what the potential package for Jordan looked like from Philly.

Of course, it would be awesome to know what the Sixers offered for what would become the best player in the history of the NBA. With that in mind, looking back at what players and picks that the 76ers had available entering the 1984 NBA Draft below is one possible package Philly could have offered Chicago for the third overall pick.

It should be made clear that I have no insider information and this hypothetical trade that I came up with is the result of researching what players and draft assets the 76ers had at the time.

More from The Sixer Sense

In this hypothetical trade, the Sixers get the third overall pick, which becomes Michael Jordan. Assuming Jordan becomes the legend he is, this trade is more than worth it for the 76ers. There’s a very good chance he brings multiple titles to the Philly during his career.

The Bulls get a very nice haul for the third pick in this proposed deal. They get the fifth and the 10th picks in 1984 NBA Draft. Those picks became Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and point guard Leon Wood. Chicago also gets Andrew Toney who was an All-Star the two previous seasons before that draft and the Sixers 1985 first round pick that became the 21st pick and was used to draft Terry Catledge.

Giving up three first round picks and an All-Star level player to move up just two spots seems like a lot without context. However, the context is Michael Jordan and no price is too high! Keeping in mind that Jordan was coming out of college and not at his legend status yet, this hypothetical deal is a strong offer that Thorn might have to at least consider.

In the end, the Philadelphia 76ers failed to get the pick that could have landed them Jordan. However, it’s nice to imagine what might have been.

dark. Next. 3 ways the Sixers would be better off with Jayson Tatum