Plus, the reason Clyde left UH a year early is because Guy Lewis wanted him to continue playing SF, and Clyde knew he was more suited to be a SG in the NBA. Hard to imagine him and MJ on the same team.
I think Dream's numbers would take the biggest hit, but only PPG. MJ would ballhog and it would be his team. Dream would get boards and blocks (still be no. 1 in the blocks category) and Clyde would be a better Pippen than Pippen ever was. They would have trumped Boston's numbers.
I really think they would have pushed each other though initially I don't know if they would have been very friendly off the court. Also, both of their offensive stats would have dipped but I think both of them would have developed their games more quickly. When you practice and play with talent of that level, it just makes you that much better more quickly. The possibilities would have been pretty scary for the league.
Drexler would have been the first to be traded. MJ n Hakeem would have beat Bird's Celtics. They would have been what Shaq n Kobe could have been if only their heads weren't so big. 10-12 championships. Then we enter the Yao Ming injury ridden seasons we are suffering now. Rudy T would prolly have never become coach though. PJ would have been our main coach most likely. It would have taken one championship season for a young Dream n MJ to realize how to co-exist.
When Jordan entered the league, titles were won by superteams and basically everyone else was roadkill. They would have realised very quickly that they needed each other.
Sorry but there's no way this trade will happen under any circumstances. No matter if you had a time machine and replayed things over and over, there's no way Rockets do that trade, mainly because Sampson was seen as a superstar and the concept of a twin towers matchup was too enticing to pass up. As you said Sampson just came of as the ROY, why will the Rox trade him for a "struggling" Drexler and the number 2 pick? And even if they did do the trade (on grounds of reuniting phi slamma jamma), I'm pretty sure they would have drafted Barkley or Sam Bowie over MJ. They probably would have prioritized replacing Sampson over adding in yet another wing player.
This. MJ wouldn't be MJ, but his desire to win would've over-ridden his ego just like how it did with Kobe. In fact, MJ would probably be Kobe under the Shaq years, that guy who knows he's good enough to be a franchise guy, but can't help leaning on the hall of fame C.
Man that would be the best big 3 in history. The Heat's big 3 won't even come close. Hakeem easily dominates Bosh, Drexler and Jordan together are much more deadlier than Bron and Wade. The thought of that is just insane. Outside of Clyde, Hakeem and Jordan would just be unstoppable. I would much rather trade Clyde for a great PG like John Stockton because he would pass the ball perfectly to Hakeem and Jordan which would inflate their scoring averages.
I don't believe this is true - the story, as I remember it, is that had the Rockets drafted Drexler instead of McCray in '83, then traded Sampson for Portland's #2, they could have had Dream, Glyde and Jordan. I doubt the Blazers offered/would have offered a top rookie and the second overall pick for Sampson.
This would have been a far stronger "Big 3" than the recent incarnations Just to think of the number 1 and 3 picks (should they have dealt Sampson) of the the deepest draft in NBA history, not to mention the the three men that won titles or have lead teams to the Finals from the mid-eighties, the hometown hero coming back ten years early to dominate the NBA. How many teams' fortunes would have been drastically altered? (Looking at Lakers, Celtics, Trailblazers, and Bulls especially) Just think of all the awards these three men have accomplished. Mutliple All-star appearances, MVPs, Defensive Players of the Year, scoring titles, All-NBA teams, Dreamteamers, and numerous other awards. The best center and guard in the best draft ever. Olajuwon's ability to anchor the paint may have meant even MORE steals for Clyde and MJ. Clyde and Dream may have been more rested throughout their careers and less injured during their twilight years. Clyde's all-around game would have to move to small forward to balance out Dream's game and Jordan's perimeter game. Think of the deal the Rockets would have gotten to pay these contracts at the rookie rate in those days. Think of how modern Big 3s stack up against these 3?
Sampson was considered a true superstar. He was the 3 time Naismith College Player of the Year coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign. In 1984, that would have looked like a great trade for Portland.
We've had this discussion before; In that scenario it's just as possible the Rockets would have ended up with Bowie or maybe Barkley or Sam Perkins and not Jordan, because with Drexler on board to play SG, and other perimeter players like Wiggins, Lloyd, McCray, Craig Ehlo already on the roster, it's a logjam. You take out Sampson and add Drexler, and the the hole in the Rockets frontcourt after Olajuwon would have been ridiculously huge, unless you think lining him up next to Jim Petersen was the way to go. Drafting Jordan or any perimeter player at that point seems like a huge error in terms of team needs. I think this is correct. It was just 2 for Sampson straight up. The fantasy Drexler-jordan-Hakeem scenario requires a lot of assumptions to come true.
A more likely scenario if the Rockets made the trade is that the draft Olajuwon, and then draft Barkley with the second pick. Drexler already plays the SG position so he would of been picked instead of Jordan. Still a damn good team with Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley playing together in their primes.
Looking at it with today's views on high draft picks if your offered a top rookie from the prior year and the 2nd pick overall for your top rookie from the year before you make that trade everytime. Back then things were different. There was less value on picks. Just look at what the Cavs did in the early 80's. They consistently traded away high picks for guys who they thought were great. It is because of that Cavs team that we have the rule of not trading consecutive 1st rounders today.
Why does a guy that registered in Oct. 2012 bump a 1 1/2 years old thread? Who's 2nd account is this?
Why do you care? This is a great discussion about legends. People who know the topic are explaining there's no way they would have Jordan and Drexler.
