In 1994 the NBA looked very strange. The game had lost a very familiar face in superstar Michael Jordan and this meant one thing for the rest of the league, time for a new champion. The Chicago Bulls had won the last three championships and before "Air" Jordan's retirement they looked fully capable of continuing their winning ways throughout the greater part of the decade.
Jordan did retire though and the Bulls would become ordinary. They still had some very good players, but they were unsure if the pieces would be able to lead to another championship without Jordan as the anchor.
A trade was proposed during the off-season of 1994. A trade that would have dramatically changed the way the Bulls played and could have severly affected their chances of winning the 3 more championships from 96'-98' when Jordan came back. The Seattle Supersonics were looking to add a superstar and at the time were having some contractual issues with their own star so a possible swap was in order. The Supersonics wanted to trade Shawn Kemp for Scottie Pippen. The deal was done in principle, but the Seattle General Manager backed out at the last moment.
If this deal had gone through, things would have been extremely different for the Bulls when Jordan came back. Pippen, one of the NBA's fifty greatest players, might have been the piece that pushed Seattle over the edge. Considering Seattle did make the NBA finals in 1996, though they did lose to the Bulls. How far would the Bulls have gone without the Pippen and Jordan combo. 72 wins would have been highly unlikely. Kemp was a good player in his prime, but was never the player Scottie Pippen was. That being said, Toni Kukoc would have become a starter instead of the 6th man and the lineup of Harper,Jordan,Kukoc, Kemp and Longley would have been very high scoring.
The concept of Pippen not with the Bulls is unfathomable and Shawn Kemp playing alongside Jordan would have been very interesting. Obviously this deal could have changed a lot in both franchises futures, but luckily it never went through and the Bulls went on the have the greatest season in NBA history
Jordan did retire though and the Bulls would become ordinary. They still had some very good players, but they were unsure if the pieces would be able to lead to another championship without Jordan as the anchor.
A trade was proposed during the off-season of 1994. A trade that would have dramatically changed the way the Bulls played and could have severly affected their chances of winning the 3 more championships from 96'-98' when Jordan came back. The Seattle Supersonics were looking to add a superstar and at the time were having some contractual issues with their own star so a possible swap was in order. The Supersonics wanted to trade Shawn Kemp for Scottie Pippen. The deal was done in principle, but the Seattle General Manager backed out at the last moment.
If this deal had gone through, things would have been extremely different for the Bulls when Jordan came back. Pippen, one of the NBA's fifty greatest players, might have been the piece that pushed Seattle over the edge. Considering Seattle did make the NBA finals in 1996, though they did lose to the Bulls. How far would the Bulls have gone without the Pippen and Jordan combo. 72 wins would have been highly unlikely. Kemp was a good player in his prime, but was never the player Scottie Pippen was. That being said, Toni Kukoc would have become a starter instead of the 6th man and the lineup of Harper,Jordan,Kukoc, Kemp and Longley would have been very high scoring.
The concept of Pippen not with the Bulls is unfathomable and Shawn Kemp playing alongside Jordan would have been very interesting. Obviously this deal could have changed a lot in both franchises futures, but luckily it never went through and the Bulls went on the have the greatest season in NBA history
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