Michael Jordan and Danny Ainge were golf buddies back in the day. The two may have been able to golf together more if the Chicago Bulls got their way in the summer of 1990.
Legendary Bulls writer Sam Smith's “The Jordan Rules” book is a trending topic again after it was discussed in last weekend's installment of The Last Dance. In the book, Smith reported that some members of the Bulls were hoping the team would pursue Ainge in the offseason of 1990 so Jordan had another explosive scorer next to him.
However, the Bulls were never able to make a trade happen and Ainge was sent from the Sacramento Kings to the Portland Trail Blazers instead.
Via Sam Amico of Sports Illustrated:
“(Steve) Colter wasn't strong enough to stand up to Jordan,” Smith wrote. “… The Bulls were looking for a scorer for their second team, but they also needed someone to stand up to Jordan when he routinely ordered his teammates out of the way late in games.”
That man could have been Ainge, but a trade never happened.
Ainge probably wishes the Bulls had traded for him. He wound up losing to Jordan and the Bulls in the 1992 Finals as a member of the Blazers and the 1993 Finals with the Phoenix Suns. Ainge finished his NBA career with the two rings he won with the Boston Celtics in the '80s.
Jordan, of course, went on to win six championships with the Bulls and six Finals MVPs. His Airness also won five regular-season MVP awards.
A 14-time All-Star, Jordan finished his Hall of Fame career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists with the Bulls and Washington Wizards.
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