The Bulls dynasty of the 1990s came to an end ahead of the 1998-99 season. After winning a whopping six NBA Championships in the decade, Michael Jordan retired, Scottie Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets and Phil Jackson stepped away from basketball altogether. But what if I told you the great run of championships almost ended at four rather than six because in the summer of 1996 this was almost a reality.
Michael Jordan was a free agent in the 1996 NBA offseason, looking to negotiate a new-one year “ballon” payment deal similar to that of his friend and New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing.