Jordan for Dr. J? It was a near deal

Michael Jordan a Philadelphia 76er? Julius Erving a Chicago Bull?

If Harold Katz had had his way, both might have happened -- meaning sports history would be very different. The Bulls would almost certainly not have won the six NBA championships they captured behind Jordan. And Philadelphia would very likely not be amid a major-title drought that extends back to 1983, when Erving led the 76ers to an NBA crown.

In an interview for a forthcoming book, Katz, the former 76ers owner, revealed that he offered Erving to Chicago on the eve of the 1984 draft for the third overall pick, which the Bulls used to select Jordan.

“I thought I had a deal with Jonathan Kovler [then the principal owner] of the Bulls for the third pick,” Katz told Pat Williams, once the 76ers’ general manager, in an interview for “Pat Williams’ Tales of the 1982-83 76ers,” co-written by this reporter.

Ultimately, Katz said, “Rod Thorn [then the Bulls’ general manager] killed that one and took Michael Jordan. I would have made that deal.”

Thorn, now the president of the New Jersey Nets, confirmed to Williams that Kovler approached him about such a deal, and that he quickly quashed it.

Katz, who sold the 76ers to Comcast Corp. in March 1996, also said he had “serious talks” with the Clippers about trading Erving for forward Terry Cummings before the ’84 draft. Billy Cunningham, then the 76ers’ coach, talked him out of it, Katz said, though the Associated Press reported at the time that Erving also opposed the deal.