Could you ever imagine Michael Jordan wearing a Los Angeles Clippers jersey during his day? The answer of course is “HELL NO” but unknown to most fans, it almost happened on two different occasions during his career.
@IamJoeSports
Jordan’s six rings are more than the entire Clippers organization has. Come to think of it, the Clips don’t have ANY championships, so imagine what the GOAT could have done for their franchise.
The Clips tried two separate times to trade for MJ, with the second attempt coming at a surprising time.
The first involved trading for the draft pick the Bulls used to select Jordan back in 1984. Chicago had its eyes on L.A.’s Terry Cummings, and a three-team deal that would have also included the Mavericks could have returned that third overall pick, which the Clippers presumably (though not certainly) would have used to add Jordan to the franchise.
The second offer was far more tempting, and came during the 1988 season. Believe it or not, there was a feeling in Chicago that Jordan’s style of play wouldn’t be conducive to winning championships, and the team’s 4-15 record in the playoffs during Jordan’s first four seasons with the Bulls was used as Exhibit A anytime that argument was delivered.
The Clippers offered “any combination of five players and/or draft picks,” according to Sam Smith’s book “The Jordan Rules,” and L.A. had the No. 1 and No. 6 picks in the draft that season. That was tempting, because of the availability of players like Mitch Richmond and Rik Smits, both of whom the Bulls were reportedly interested in.
1988 was the year MJ’s fame rose even higher after beating Dominique Wilkins in one of the most famous dunk contest of all time. It’s shocking to hear that at that point in his career, the Bulls at least considering letting him go to the west coast. Thankfully for fans around the world it never happened.
