"His reply to me was, 'BS'" - Jerry Reinsdorf says Michael Jordan denies vetoeing the Scottie Pippen for Tracy McGrady trade in 1997
Michael Jordan won six NBA championships as a member of the Chicago Bulls back in the 1990s. Jordan won all six with Scottie Pippen by his side, but it almost ended at five rings, as a rumored trade for Tracy McGrady almost went down during the 1997 NBA Draft.
In the latest episode of the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius MIles, McGrady told the story of how he nearly got traded to the Bulls in exchange for Pippen. The only reason the deal was nixed was because Jordan threatened to retire if the trade happened.
"Draft night, I almost got traded for Scottie Pippen. Jerry Krause called my agent and got me up 12 o'clock at night before the draft. Had me go to a secret location to take a physical. It was about to go down, but MJ made the call, 'Yo, if y'all do that, I'm retiring.' So he stopped that real quick," McGrady said.
After the episode aired, Michael Jordan denied that he was against the rumored trade and relayed the confirmation to Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. In addition to Jordan's confession, Reinsdorf also revealed that it was him who originally vetoed the McGrady trade.
In an interview with Chuck Swirsky of NBC Sports Chicago, Reinsdorf addressed the rumors and confirmed that he vetoed the Pippen for McGrady trade. The Bulls owner noted that he decided to pursue a sixth NBA title rather than blow it up for a rebuild.
"I understand that there's a lot of truth to the story, but the one part that's not true is that Michael Jordan in any way communicated with the Chicago Bulls his displeasure over the trade," Reinsdorf said.
"After this podcast, I contacted Michael Jordan and asked if there was any truth and his reply to me was, 'B.S'. That's the case. I don't even know if Michael was aware of it. He certainly never communicated to us, never threatened to retire. The only reason why that trade didn't go through was I felt our fans wanted a sixth championsip," Reinsdorf added.
Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to a sixth NBA championship in 1998
When Jerry Reinsdorf vetoed the trade that would have sent Scottie Pippen to the Boston Celtics for Tracy McGrady, the Chicago Bulls prepared for the 1997-98 NBA season. That season would end up being "The Last Dance" for Jordan and the rest of the team.
Jordan retired at the end of the season, while Phil Jackson took a sabbatical. Dennis Rodman became a free agent and Pippen was eventually traded to the Houston Rockets in the offseason.
All of these things happened after Mike helped the Bulls win their sixth NBA championship. They defeated the Utah Jazz in six games, with Jordan hitting the series-winning jumper.
June 14, 1998: Michael Jordan hits the game-winner on Bryon Russell in G6 & the Bulls win their 6th championship. https://t.co/teo8oC30mP