If anyone could be traded one-for-one for Jordan, it would be the 30-year-old Magician, who was at his peak and had just won the regular season MVP.
After leaving the Lakers, Pat Riley knew he wouldn't be able to trade for Jordan no matter where he went, and he didn't want to join the Bulls. Given the situation at the time, Jordan couldn't overcome the Bad Boys, so he was unemployed for a year... Who knew that in the summer of 1990, the league would introduce the flagrant foul rule, turning all those defensive moves like throat-locks, elbow hits, and tripping from simple fouls to flagrant fouls.
Previously, there were extra actions after a play that would at most be called for a technical foul, like when a defender would knock down an opponent after they finished a dunk. Sometimes, they wouldn't even be called. Now, there would be a whistle for everything.
In the year Pat Riley took a break, Jordan won the championship...
