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Michael Jordan shocked the world when he announced his retirement on October 6, 1993, but did you know that the Boston Celtics tried to acquire Jordan in 1994 when he was playing baseball?
In an interview with NBC Sports Boston in 2020, former Celtics general manager M.L. Carr discussed his pursuit of Jordan. Carr revealed that he offered the Chicago Bulls a first-round pick just to talk to Jordan.
Then-Bulls GM Jerry Krause denied any conversation with Carr, but the Celtics legend is adamant that it happened.
"As I understand it, Jerry denied having the conversation, which is absolutely not true. We did have a conversation. I reached out to Jerry, realizing that Michael had left the game. I knew Michael was not gone forever. I offered Jerry a first-round draft pick."
Carr continued:
"He goes, 'Well, M.L., Mike is not coming back. He''s retired.' Well, he is coming back, I think he is. But he denied the fact that I did that, I guess to save face with his owners. … If he got a chance to come to Boston, put on the green, what a great thing that would be from a marketing standpoint. He would have made a fortune."
M.L. Carr thought that he had a chance to talk Michael Jordan into coming back and signing with the Boston Celtics. Carr and Jordan were both from North Carolina, and the former Celtics general manager knew the Jordans way before MJ arrived in the NBA.
"I thought I could use the connection to talk Mike into coming back. And I thought, if for whatever reason, he did come back and he would wear the Celtics green, it would be a whole other marketing avenue for him, which would absolutely go through the roof."
Michael Jordan returned to Chicago Bulls in 1995
Michael Jordan ended his flirtation with baseball on March 18, 1995, when he announced his return to the Chicago Bulls. Jordan and the Bulls would make it to the Eastern Conference semifinals but lost to the Orlando Magic in six games.
MJ returned with a vengeance in 1996, leading the Bulls to a 72-10 record and their fourth NBA championship. Jordan and the Bulls would go on to win two more titles, in 1997 and 1998, as Jordan cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in the league.
Now, Jordan is a billionaire who owns the Charlotte Hornets. He might be the G.O.A.T. for many, but his tenure as an owner has been a failure so far.
