Sports > pro basketball
From the Allentown Morning Call
Sixers wanted to trade Dr. J for draft pick used on Jordan
Deal could have completely changed NBA history
Originally published April 19, 2007, 11:56 AM EDT
Michael Jordan a 76er? Julius Erving a Chicago Bull?

If Harold Katz had had his way, both might have happened -- meaning sports history would be very different. The Bulls would almost certainly not have won the six NBA championships they captured behind Jordan. And Philadelphia would very likely not be amid a major-title drought that extends back to 1983, when Erving led the Sixers to an NBA crown.




In an interview for a forthcoming book, Katz, the former Sixers owner, revealed something that likely has never been revealed before: He offered Erving, the Hall of Fame forward, to Chicago on the eve of the 1984 draft for the third overall pick, which the Bulls used to select Jordan.

"I thought I had a deal with Jonathan Kovler (then the principal owner) of the Bulls for the third pick," Katz told Pat Williams, once the Sixers' general manager, in an interview for "Pat Williams' Tales of the 1982-83 76ers."

The book, co-authored by this reporter, will be released in November by Sports Publishing LLC, based in Champaign, Ill.

Ultimately, Katz said, "Rod Thorn [then the Bulls' general manager] killed that one and took Michael Jordan. I would have made that deal."

Thorn, now the president of the New Jersey Nets, confirmed to Williams that Kovler approached him about such a deal, and that he quickly quashed it.

Katz, who sold the Sixers to Comcast Corp. in March 1996, also said he had "serious talks" with the Clippers about trading Erving for forward Terry Cummings before the '84 draft. Billy Cunningham, then the Sixers' coach, talked him out of it, Katz said, though the Associated Press reported at the time that Erving met with Katz and voiced his opposition as well.

-- Reporting by Gordie Jones, The Morning Call