 He's the greatest player of all time. He could turn the worst NBA franchise into a contender. He can make plays that no other players can make. He talks trash. He scores. He defends. He hits game winners. He does everything on the court. Still, MJ was nearly traded multiple times. And of course most of these trade involve MJ as a young player because ultimately why would you trade the greatest player to ever play the game? A 6x NBA champion, it just doesn't make any sense. But there is one trade in here that doesn't involve MJ as a rookie. And by that stage, he was an MVP, a defensive player of the year. So why would the Chicago Bulls look to trade him? So here are 5 NBA trades that almost sent MJ to a different organization outside of the Chicago Bulls. So with that said, it's the year 2020 and this year I want to have a big year on YouTube. So I really need your support this year. If you enjoy the videos, please leave a like to support the channel. It takes one second of your time. It'd be amazing if we could reach a thousand likes for the next video. If you're new around here and you enjoy NBA content, be sure to hit that subscribe button for NBA content every single week. And if you want to hit that notification button so you never miss an upload, feel free. But without further ado, let's get on to the video. Number 5, 1984, Michael Jordan to the Houston Rockets for Ralph Sampson. During the 1984 NBA draft, the Portland Trailblazers had obviously drafted Sam Bowie. Number 2, making them frowned upon by many NBA fans, obviously because they passed up on MJ and Sam Bowie would become known as a bust. In saying that, it's not the Portland Trailblazers who messed up as much as it is the Houston Rockets. The Houston Rockets passed up on MJ not once, but twice. With the number one pick in the 1984 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Elijah one, which as we all know was a great selection. He became the best center in the league at one point. He became one of the greatest centers of all time. And it's no debate that the Houston Rockets should have taken him number one overall, because he was the best player coming out of college and he was also a franchise changing player. Had it been any other draft, then they would have taken the best player available. But what the Houston Rockets missed out on was a dynasty of Hakeem Elijah one and Michael Jordan, which had been brought up via a trade, sending the 1983 Rookie of the Year Ralph Sampson to the Portland Trailblazers for the second overall pick, which was discussed, but obviously never happened. We all know that the 1984 draft is considered one of the greatest ever, and at the time the Rockets played around with the idea of having the two young and upcoming stars in Hakeem and MJ, instead of Ralph Sampson and Hakeem, considering that Ralph Sampson and Hakeem basically played the same position, except one of them would have to be stretched out to the four, making them a very tough front court to face up against, but having two big men in the league was something that was very different at the time, because this wasn't a power forward and center combination, this was a two center combination. What makes it worse, and is obviously just luck, is the fact that the Houston Rockets had Ralph Sampson who would be overshadowed by injuries, meaning that Hakeem and Sampson would only have two healthy years together. The entire trade was that the Blazers wanted to deal their second overall pick to the Houston Rockets, and although the Portland Trailblazers liked Sam Bowie, Portland's head coach Jack Ramsey went on record saying that he would have taken the trade in a heartbeat, making Sampson a Blazer, and the Rockets getting MJ in the end. The Rockets obviously didn't completely flop with their decision, and despite Sampson being injured throughout his career, and Jordan being the greatest player ever, the selection of Hakeem and Lajeran would enable them to retain two NBA championship, and although years later it still poses the question for how successful Hakeem and MJ could have been together, and you can only imagine that what if. Number 4 1987 Michael Jordan to the Los Angeles Clippers This is probably the craziest trade that one has ever come up with. It was 1987. Michael Jordan was not the MJ that has been immortalized by NBA fans all over the world, and obviously is considered as the greatest player of all time. This was not that MJ. This was a very promising young superstar who was soon to be the face of the league, but he had been injured and he wasn't the best player available at the time. His injury wasn't a minor injury either, it was a pretty big injury at the time. He basically missed the entirety of his sophomore season playing only 18 games, and starting 9 of them. Due to MJ suffering a broken foot in his third game of the season, the Bulls organization were contemplating on shifting the team's outlook to the future, and looked deeply into the possibility of attempting to become a championship calibre team. According to the book The Jordan Rules, written by a former Chicago Tribune sports journalist Sam Smith, the Bulls have been closely looking into dealing MJ to the Clippers in exchange for the number one overall pick, the number six overall pick, and a combination of three other players. The Bulls could have five players in total, or the number one pick, the number six pick and three other players, plus their own draft pick. So looking back, it was actually a pretty decent trade, if it was anybody else besides Michael Jordan. Obviously with the play they had selected three years prior, third overall, and who had just suffered a foot injury, this was obviously an enticing deal. The number one pick and the number six pick, they would have two very good players, plus they would be able to get more future talent, but they decided not to do that. They obviously kept MJ, which was the best decision the Bulls could have made. In addition, at the time, the Bulls management had deemed MJ for being a selfish ball hole, and they said that MJ couldn't help the organization at all in terms of leading the team to championship success. But this trade was in 1988, four years after Michael Jordan had been drafted. This was not a trade that involved MJ as a rookie, or MJ with no potential, this is MJ four years into the league. Having this trade even been put on the table, and MJ being a part of the Los Angeles Clippers, it could have changed the entire outcome of what we know in the NBA today. And obviously of course MJ wasn't the greatest player ever at that time, it was only his four season in the league, but during the 1987-88 season, he put up 35 points per game and was named both the MVP of the league and defensive player of the year. With that said, many people, including Jerry Kraus, the owner of the Chicago Bulls, didn't think that Jordan would be enough to get his team a championship. Which looking back in retrospect, it's obviously hard to believe that MJ, a selfish ball hog, who could not win a championship, that statement sounds idiotic. But at the time, he really was a guy that would put up stats, and he even stated himself, he didn't know how to win. Eventually he would be able to get his teammates involved, and obviously he would team up with his sidekick Scotty Pippen, and it was Batman and Robin who won three NBA championships, then retired and won another three after. So obviously MJ knew how to win towards the end of his career, but at the start he was putting up a lot of points and being a star in the league, but he wasn't winning NBA championships. So why would the Clippers do this trade? Why would the Clippers trade the number one overall pick, the number six overall pick, and other picks? Well, the Clippers owner at the time was Donald Sterling, and he was tired of being looked down upon as the worst of the two LA teams. And yes, this is the same Donald Sterling that was removed and banned from the NBA a few years ago by the Los Angeles Clippers. He was an extremely racist man who used his power to get what he wanted, which is why he was able to stay in the league for as long as he did. And this is because first and foremost he was a businessman. He didn't really care about the players themselves, but rather about his money. And that's why he wanted Michael Jordan. He wanted to compete with the Los Angeles Lakers. If the Clippers had Jordan and the Lakers had Magic, that rivalry would have been bigger than basketball, but it also would have changed the league entirely. And most likely Jordan would not have six NBA championships because Donald Sterling would never put a star player next to Jordan because that would mean he would have to pay, and Sterling didn't like to pay. He would have had Jordan as the front and centerpiece of the team, but it was all for his own gain. He wanted to provide some competition for the Lakers who had Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, and obviously championships upon championships. The Clippers, on the other hand, were a new team and they basically had nothing. Actually, they had nothing. Whilst Chicago had the ability to turn these pigs into Rick Smith and Mitch Richmond, Chicago also had their own pick and would have used that to probably get a guy like Rod Strickland. Rod Strickland, Mitch Richmond and Rick Smith, it could have been a nice trio, but they obviously chose to keep MJ, which obviously and not for the last time in this video was a very smart decision. Number three, 1984, Michael Jordan for Julius Irving. Philadelphia had been greatly interested in acquiring MJ in exchange for Julius Irving, which obviously made sense at the time. Julius Irving was reaching the end of his career whilst MJ was entering the league and one of MJ's idols was Julius Irving. He stated that he looked up to Dr. J and had some of his moves in his arsenal. Do you feel that you carry on Julius' legacy to this game? I think I have a part of it. I think Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, I think all these people along with myself carry that label, the NBA. I think Julius and I are very similar in terms of what we try to do with the kids and what positive role models that we try to be, but I don't think anyone can carry the legacy like he carried it. And the idea of trading Dr. J, who many considered at the time one of the greatest players of all time up until the 80s for MJ in 1984 would have shocked the league by storm. It would be very similar for a guy like Kevin Durant to be traded for the number three overall pick, which yeah, it would have shocked the league. That's what it would have been like in the 80s if the 76ers trade away Dr. J. But as we all know, looking back in hindsight, it would have been a very smart move. But then why was this trade even put on the table? The 76ers were just NBA champions. Dr. J was still playing at a very high level, yes he was getting older, but he was still a very serviceable player and he was playing alongside the MVP of the league in Moses Malone. Those two combined were good enough to win a championship the next season. Why was this trade even put on the table if this version of MJ wasn't even that good of a player yet? It also would have put an extreme amount of pressure on MJ coming into the NBA. As not only would have this been a trade in swapping MJ for Dr. J, but Philadelphia had just been to an NBA championship and won. At the time, the 6th owner Harold Katz was intrigued by MJ as he went to North Carolina and believed that Michael played awfully similar to Julius Irving when Julius was 11 years younger. In hindsight, this man was very, very smart and he saw it before many. Unfortunately, he wasn't smart enough as he never made the trade and Dr. J retired in Philly. But had he made that trade, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, MJ, it would have been scary. And what's crazy looking back is that he said, and I quote, I thought I had a deal with the former owner Jonathan Culver of the Chicago Bulls for the third overall pick. Katz told Pat Williams, the 6th general manager at the time. Rob Thorn, who was the Bull GM at the time, killed the deal and took MJ in the end. But Katz said I would have made the deal. And this story was found in the book Pat Williams, tells from the Philadelphia 76ers 1982-1983 NBA champions, which means that the deal was awfully close. So had they had MJ, this Philadelphia 76ers team could have won multiple NBA championships, maybe even more than the 6th he won in Chicago and Charles Barkley wouldn't have been wrigglers. Something to think about. At number two, Michael Jordan for Jack Sigmund. During the 1984 NBA offseason, the Seattle Superstitutes were in rebuild mode. While the Chicago Bulls were in need of a big man. Jack Sigmund was players on the trade table who was considered to be an extremely underrated NBA center who was a grid and grind type of guy. He was a big man who a championship experience, winning an NBA title in 1979 with the Seattle SuperSonics. He seemed like he'd be a great fit in Chicago. And had the Seattle SuperSonics been blessed with the top two pick, they would have made the trade. But during the lottery, Seattle would not be in luck as Houston and Portland got pick one and two. And those teams were also in need for a big man as they drafted Hakeem and Sam Bowie. The only way that Seattle makes the trade is if they can get a big man in return, but not from Chicago. They would draft a big man and get MJ, bringing MJ to the Seattle SuperSonics plus either Hakeem or Sam Bowie. Instead, they obviously didn't get the luck and they didn't get MJ. Seattle's general manager at the time, Les Haberger, told the Chicago Tribute that they would have traded Jack Sigmund. He said, and I quote, we can't trade Sigmund without a center in return. And with Hakeem and Sam Bowie already being selected and the bulls not having a center to give up, they didn't make the trade in the end. But imagine if MJ began his career in Seattle, would they still be a team today? And if so, would they become one of the most successful NBA franchises? Who knows? Number one, Michael Jordan to the Atlanta Hawks, pairing up Dominique Wilkins. In 1984, the Atlanta Hawks proposed a trade, Tree Rollins for Michael Jordan. At the time, Tree Rollins was seen as a DeAndre Jordan type player. He was an athletic big man who could block a shot. He was a defensive player of the year. He was a massive defensive presence. And he was a guy that the bulls needed because they were looking for a big man. Remembering that in 1984, the bulls drafted Jordan, but they were really looking for a big man. If Hakeem or Sam Bowie were on the board, they would have gone with one of those two big men, but obviously those two guys were off, so they went with Jordan. Even though they had selected Jordan with their first pick, the bulls were disappointed. GM Rod Thorn admitted as much when he apologized to Chicago fans. You know how Rod Thorn built the team by accident? He didn't want Michael Jordan. He wanted a big man. There was sentiment in the organization. Hey, we have a lot of guards. We really need a center. Should we trade down and take a guy like Mel Turpin or somebody else? Our feeling was that Jordan is potentially a very fine NBA player, but to think he would turn out to be what he turned out to be. I wish I had repression enough to have thought that at the time. But Tree Rowland seemed like a guy that they could definitely trade for. He was a very, very good defender, averaging 4.3 blocks per game the previous season, although he was not an offensive presence by any means. This trade, like many others that have been proposed, would once again focus on trading for the third overall pick, which obviously ended up being Jordan. But what makes this trade so intriguing is the idea of the Atlanta Hawks teaming up Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan, combining the two human highlight reels together, the rival dunk contest champions, allowing them to be a dynamic duo. And when you think about it, you look at MJ and Pippin winning six NBA championships. Imagine if Atlanta had MJ and Dominique. But either way, one of those two guys pairing up with MJ can mean NBA championships. And when you think about it, the Boston Celtics were getting older. They were in the East. Isaiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons obviously had a pretty easy facing off against Chicago for the first few years, because Scotty Pippin wasn't the Scotty Pippin. He took his time to emerge. Dominique came into the leagues of pretty solid play already. And in 1988, it was game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals, and that provided a legendary shootout between Bird and Dominique, which Boston obviously advanced. But obviously if Atlanta at the time had MJ, there's probably no way that Boston would advance to the Conference finals. And Atlanta probably would have been definite NBA championship contenders. With that said, those were five NBA trades that had MJ in them. If you enjoy this video, please be sure to leave a like, subscribe if you're new for more NBA content. And if you want, you can follow me on Instagram as well. With that said, it's been your morning, Smith, I am out. Peace.