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Prior to the 1995-96 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls were hardly a sure thing destined to be the greatest team in pro basketball history.
In fact, the Bulls were not even considered favorites in the Eastern Conference, with the Orlando Magic holding that spot. Despite getting swept in the 1995 Finals by the Houston Rockets, the Magic were considered the team of the future, having knocked out the Bulls in the second round behind Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway and former Bull Horace Grant.
As for the Bulls, Chicago seemed like a team of the past with a lot of questions.
During the 1995 NBA Playoffs, Jordan had some spectacular moments but did not look like the Jordan of old, with Orlando guard Nick Anderson acknowledging this after the series between the Magic and Bulls.
While returning Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc, the Bulls actually looked weaker on paper in the summer of 1995.
Gone was starting guard B.J. Armstrong, who was left unprotected by the Bulls and selected by the Toronto Raptors in the Expansion Draft. With the fan favorite Armstrong leaving, Chicago had a hole at point guard. Ron Harper, who had been signed from the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the 1994-95 season, was a bust in his first season with the Bulls. Chicago had signed Windy City native Randy Brown from the Sacramento Kings, with Jordan saying during one preseason interview that he expected Brown to start over Harper, a thought that seemed crazy to me.
With the exception of Pippen and maybe Will Perdue, Jordan's chemistry with his newer teammates, specifically Kukoc, Harper, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler, Bill Wennington and Luc Longley, was a work in progress. Later that summer Jordan would famously punch Kerr during a practice, showing the tension between MJ and his new teammates.
Most importantly, Chicago still had a gaping hole at the power forward spot that had not been filled since Grant signed with Orlando after the 1993-94 season.
Chicago had tried a stopgap at the start of the 1994-95 season with veteran Larry Krystowiak, who was old, injured and washed. Previous first-round draft choices Corie Blount and Dicky Simpkins were not ready for the role, with Blount actually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during the summer of 1995. During the 1995 NBA Draft, the Bulls spent another first-round pick on a power forward, in Jason Caffey from Alabama. While showing some promise, Caffey was nowhere near ready to start on a contender.
With a month to go before the season, Chicago was looking like it would have to start Kukoc at power forward. While 6'11'', Kukoc was more of a finesse forward than a power forward, not someone equipped to battle on an 82-game basis with Eastern Conference bruisers like Dale Davis of the Indiana Pacers, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason of the New York Knicks, and Grant of the Magic.
While Jordan's return following a summer of training was exciting, the 1995-96 Bulls seemed incomplete, that is, until the rumors began about a former nemesis from the Detroit Pistons.
In fact, the Bulls were not even considered favorites in the Eastern Conference, with the Orlando Magic holding that spot. Despite getting swept in the 1995 Finals by the Houston Rockets, the Magic were considered the team of the future, having knocked out the Bulls in the second round behind Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway and former Bull Horace Grant.
As for the Bulls, Chicago seemed like a team of the past with a lot of questions.
During the 1995 NBA Playoffs, Jordan had some spectacular moments but did not look like the Jordan of old, with Orlando guard Nick Anderson acknowledging this after the series between the Magic and Bulls.
While returning Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc, the Bulls actually looked weaker on paper in the summer of 1995.
Gone was starting guard B.J. Armstrong, who was left unprotected by the Bulls and selected by the Toronto Raptors in the Expansion Draft. With the fan favorite Armstrong leaving, Chicago had a hole at point guard. Ron Harper, who had been signed from the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the 1994-95 season, was a bust in his first season with the Bulls. Chicago had signed Windy City native Randy Brown from the Sacramento Kings, with Jordan saying during one preseason interview that he expected Brown to start over Harper, a thought that seemed crazy to me.
With the exception of Pippen and maybe Will Perdue, Jordan's chemistry with his newer teammates, specifically Kukoc, Harper, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler, Bill Wennington and Luc Longley, was a work in progress. Later that summer Jordan would famously punch Kerr during a practice, showing the tension between MJ and his new teammates.
Most importantly, Chicago still had a gaping hole at the power forward spot that had not been filled since Grant signed with Orlando after the 1993-94 season.
Chicago had tried a stopgap at the start of the 1994-95 season with veteran Larry Krystowiak, who was old, injured and washed. Previous first-round draft choices Corie Blount and Dicky Simpkins were not ready for the role, with Blount actually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during the summer of 1995. During the 1995 NBA Draft, the Bulls spent another first-round pick on a power forward, in Jason Caffey from Alabama. While showing some promise, Caffey was nowhere near ready to start on a contender.
With a month to go before the season, Chicago was looking like it would have to start Kukoc at power forward. While 6'11'', Kukoc was more of a finesse forward than a power forward, not someone equipped to battle on an 82-game basis with Eastern Conference bruisers like Dale Davis of the Indiana Pacers, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason of the New York Knicks, and Grant of the Magic.
While Jordan's return following a summer of training was exciting, the 1995-96 Bulls seemed incomplete, that is, until the rumors began about a former nemesis from the Detroit Pistons.
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Make the jump to read more about the unlikeliest of acquisitions by the Chicago Bulls.
Dennis Rodman was an all-time rebounder whose stock had never been lower after flaming out during the 1995 NBA Playoffs with the San Antonio Spurs. During two seasons with the Spurs, Rodman was a key component of a Spurs team with David Robinson that had serious championship aspirations. However, Rodman's transformation into the bad boy of the NBA, with dyed hair and a bad attitude, proved to be a huge distraction and detriment when it mattered most for the Spurs, which lost in six games to the Rockets during the Western Conference Finals.
With Rodman's relationship with the Spurs essentially done, and his career on life support, something unexpected happened. Risk-averse Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause inquired about Rodman with the Spurs, who were ready to dump the power forward for pretty much nothing.
I remember reading how the Spurs wanted Perdue and Simpkins, whom Krause did not want to give up, for the rights to Rodman.
"We are seriously not going to get Dennis Rodman because Krause won't trade Simpkins," I thought to myself.
Of course, adding Rodman was complicated beyond his self-destructive tendencies with the Spurs. Rodman was a hated member of the rival Pistons, a bully on the court who infamously gave Scottie Pippen a cheap shot during Game 4 of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, a glorious day when the Bulls finally vanquished a Detroit Bad Boys team that had eliminated Chicago three straight seasons.
Krause would need approval from Jordan and Pippen, who was going to be much harder to convince. Pippen would actually want Rodman to apologize for his past cheap shot if he were to join the Bulls.
On the morning of Tuesday, October 3, 1995, I woke up for school and read the Chicago Sun-Times sports section, getting updated on the discussions for Rodman, wondering if the Bulls would actually make this move, adding a villain to fill a desperate need at power forward.
When I returned home from school that day, I was greeted with great news: the Bulls had acquired Rodman for just Perdue. The Spurs were so desperate to get rid of Rodman that Krause didn't even have to give up Simpkins.
My grade-school buddy Jeff, whose parents were divorced, told me a better story about the day the Bulls got Rodman.
While picking up his son for his weekly visitation, Jeff's Dad broke the news.
"Guess what Jeff? The Bulls got Rodman."
"They did!" Jeff exclaimed. "Who did they have to trade?"
"Just Will Perdue," Jeff's Dad responded.
"That's all," Jeff said, laughing out loud in sheer shock and glee that an all-time great Rodman was coming to the Bulls for such a small price.
While filled with some mixed feelings, I was ultimately intrigued by the addition of Rodman, who could blow up this season or make it something special. Don't get me wrong. I hated Rodman on the Pistons. He was a jerk, but this could work out with the Bulls.
With the presence of Jordan, Pippen and Head Coach Phil Jackson, I figured Rodman would get in line and be on his best behavior, with his career at death's door. My intuition was right. At his first press conference after getting traded to and signing with the Bulls, Rodman seemed engaged, donning a Bulls logo in the back of his head and showcasing his new number, 91. Of course, Rodman would not be without controversy and stupidity during his first season with the Bulls.
However, with Rodman at power forward, the Bulls had finally replaced Grant and were suddenly looking like a team that could take the East from Orlando.
The final piece was in place for the Bulls, and the NBA would not be the same for the next three seasons.
With Rodman's relationship with the Spurs essentially done, and his career on life support, something unexpected happened. Risk-averse Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause inquired about Rodman with the Spurs, who were ready to dump the power forward for pretty much nothing.
I remember reading how the Spurs wanted Perdue and Simpkins, whom Krause did not want to give up, for the rights to Rodman.
"We are seriously not going to get Dennis Rodman because Krause won't trade Simpkins," I thought to myself.
Of course, adding Rodman was complicated beyond his self-destructive tendencies with the Spurs. Rodman was a hated member of the rival Pistons, a bully on the court who infamously gave Scottie Pippen a cheap shot during Game 4 of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, a glorious day when the Bulls finally vanquished a Detroit Bad Boys team that had eliminated Chicago three straight seasons.
Krause would need approval from Jordan and Pippen, who was going to be much harder to convince. Pippen would actually want Rodman to apologize for his past cheap shot if he were to join the Bulls.
On the morning of Tuesday, October 3, 1995, I woke up for school and read the Chicago Sun-Times sports section, getting updated on the discussions for Rodman, wondering if the Bulls would actually make this move, adding a villain to fill a desperate need at power forward.
When I returned home from school that day, I was greeted with great news: the Bulls had acquired Rodman for just Perdue. The Spurs were so desperate to get rid of Rodman that Krause didn't even have to give up Simpkins.
My grade-school buddy Jeff, whose parents were divorced, told me a better story about the day the Bulls got Rodman.
While picking up his son for his weekly visitation, Jeff's Dad broke the news.
"Guess what Jeff? The Bulls got Rodman."
"They did!" Jeff exclaimed. "Who did they have to trade?"
"Just Will Perdue," Jeff's Dad responded.
"That's all," Jeff said, laughing out loud in sheer shock and glee that an all-time great Rodman was coming to the Bulls for such a small price.
While filled with some mixed feelings, I was ultimately intrigued by the addition of Rodman, who could blow up this season or make it something special. Don't get me wrong. I hated Rodman on the Pistons. He was a jerk, but this could work out with the Bulls.
With the presence of Jordan, Pippen and Head Coach Phil Jackson, I figured Rodman would get in line and be on his best behavior, with his career at death's door. My intuition was right. At his first press conference after getting traded to and signing with the Bulls, Rodman seemed engaged, donning a Bulls logo in the back of his head and showcasing his new number, 91. Of course, Rodman would not be without controversy and stupidity during his first season with the Bulls.
However, with Rodman at power forward, the Bulls had finally replaced Grant and were suddenly looking like a team that could take the East from Orlando.
The final piece was in place for the Bulls, and the NBA would not be the same for the next three seasons.
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