Remember when I linked to Sam Smith’s story about Michael Jordan’s brief flirtation with the Knicks? Well, Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports took a little time to poke some holes in Smith’s recollection of events.
To begin, Allan Houston wasn’t on the Knicks when they tried to sign Mike. He ended up signing with them that summer using most of the cap space New York made the desperate attempt to sign Jordan with. Really, signing Michael to a large deal would have left the Knicks with Ewing, Oakley, John Starks, Herb Williams, Charlie Ward, and a whole host of would-be minimum salaried vets that the Knicks would have to go and sign.
They had to go and sign them anyway, following the non-MJ free agent splurge that followed. But because the Knicks would have used all their cap space on one player (MJ) instead of acquiring several (Houston, Chris Childs, Buck Williams, leaving space to trade for Hubert Davis’ and Larry Johnson’s contracts), all those Scotty Brooks’ and Chris Jents’ and Dontae’ Jones’ would have been seventh and eighth men, instead of occupying the end of the bench as they ended up doing for the 1996-97 Knicks. Not exactly a championship combination.
Your move Sam.
In all seriousness, it’s obvious that Smith got a few of his facts mixed up. And it’s very possible that he embellished on a few things. But Jordan’s interest in the Knicks was probably real.
From MJ’s book “For the Love of the Game”:
Although it would have been hard to play for another coach, I always wondered how it would have been to play for New York. Given the facts of Phil’s departure and the Bulls’ desire to rebuild, I would have seriously considered playing for the Knicks during the 1998-99 season if I were single. New York fans appreciate good players and I always enjoyed playing in Madison Square Garden.
Obviously, the circumstances were much different in 1996-97. The Bulls had just won their fourth championship in six years. It may not have been “likely,” but even Dwyer admits that Jordan could have used the Knicks to leverage Chicago into paying him what he was worth. But it probably wasn’t about the money as much as it was about respect. If Chicago had failed to offer MJ a contract he deemed to be of market value, I think he would have gladly signed with the Knicks for less. Jordan loved to stick it to players and teams that he believed had wronged him. Thankfully for basketball fans everywhere, the Bulls stepped up to the plate and paid Jordan what he was worth.
I guess Reindsdorf and Krause felt they could wait two more seasons before unceremoniously breaking up one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
