Michael Jordan: "I wouldn't have called up Larry and Magic" takes shot at LeBron.

wilheim · Jul 19, 2010

Michael Jordan takes a mini-shot at the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh troika, saying he never would have arranged for a superstar conglomerate during his playing days.

Said Jordan at the American Century Championship golf tournament in Stateline, Nev.:

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team . . .

"But that's . . . things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

USA Today

2PLAYSMAX · Jul 19, 2010

Yep. Ultimate competitor.

mclosin · Jul 19, 2010

he did have scotty pippen and plenty quality role players in an era where the talent of the nba was probably at an all time low (at least in my life).

RobFunk · Jul 19, 2010

Yeah. I saw this on the ESPN bar that scrolls on the bottom.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the quip. Wade might be on the same level as Larry or Magic. But Bosh certainly isn't.

And "he never would have arranged for a superstar conglomerate during his playing days." Unh, Rodman and Pippen?!

2PLAYSMAX · Jul 19, 2010

One thing guys...i'm not quite sure Pippen would have developed into the type of player he was if Mike wasn't on his team. If he played with the Nets would he have even been mentioned as one of the greats?

Not sure but I wonder this often when I he Pippen's legacy being mentioned.

festeringZit · Jul 19, 2010

RobFunk said:
Yeah. I saw this on the ESPN bar that scrolls on the bottom.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the quip. Wade might be on the same level as Larry or Magic. But Bosh certainly isn't.

And "he never would have arranged for a superstar conglomerate during his playing days." Unh, Rodman and Pippen?!

In my opinion:

Wade is no where near the level as Larry or Magic.

D2bets · Jul 19, 2010

RobFunk said:
Yeah. I saw this on the ESPN bar that scrolls on the bottom.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the quip. Wade might be on the same level as Larry or Magic. But Bosh certainly isn't.

And "he never would have arranged for a superstar conglomerate during his playing days." Unh, Rodman and Pippen?!

Pippen wasn't a superstar conglomerate - he was a Bulls draft pick. Rodman came in as a FA for the second three-peat, but I don't think anyone believed he was a superstar. A really good role player, but hardly a superstar. Mostly the Bulls consisted of their draft picks, with role players brought in to fill it out.

D2bets · Jul 19, 2010

festeringZit said:
In my opinion:

Wade is no where near the level as Larry or Magic.

I think the point is that Wade is among the Top 4 or 5 players in the game. Would you agree?

CarolinaKid · Jul 19, 2010

James is no Jordan on or off the court, he can get 4 so call dream team players and guess what he will never be like Mike...........ck

mclosin · Jul 19, 2010

at any rate, pippen was an elite sidekick. i believe the bulls got him in a draft day deal. jordan also had probably the 2nd best coach of all time and an at least competent front office. once he started winning, werent bird and magic on the back end of thier careers anyways?

RobFunk · Jul 19, 2010

mclosin said:
at any rate, pippen was an elite sidekick. i believe the bulls got him in a draft day deal. jordan also had probably the 2nd best coach of all time and an at least competent front office. once he started winning, werent bird and magic on the back end of thier careers anyways?

I was thinking this also.

viking611 · Jul 19, 2010

Jordan forgot that he played with Pippen (top 50 player all time), Rodman (top defender and rebounder), Horace Grant and always had great 3 pt shooters and guards around (Paxon, BJ Armstrong, and Kerr). He didn't need Magic and Bird - He already had a great team. During the 2nd three peat - he had 6th Man of the Year winner Kukoc and probably the best bench in the league. His teams were stacked.
**
Jordanless Bulls with Pippen as the star won 55 games. Pippen won the All Star game MVP that year. They were beat in 2nd round by the Knicks who went on to get beat in the Finals. Also was controversial call in that game 7 when they got beat by the Knicks.

celticGreen+ · Jul 19, 2010

I don't think it really matters what Jordan's team consisted of... I think his point is just that he wanted to beat the other great players, not play with them. He really could've taken a shot at James had he wanted to, but then backed off with the last sentence.

RobFunk · Jul 19, 2010

celticGreen said:
I don't think it really matters what Jordan's team consisted of... I think his point is just that he wanted to beat the other great players, not play with them. He really could've taken a shot at James had he wanted to, but then backed off with the last sentence.

Yeah. I do realize this. I mean how crazy is this : 3 of the top 10 scorers from last year will all play on one team. That's just SICK.

No excuse for the Heat to not win a title other than serious injury.

DogDaze · Jul 19, 2010

festeringZit said:
In my opinion:

Wade is no where near the level as Larry or Magic.

WorldNumberOne · Jul 19, 2010

mclosin said:
at any rate, pippen was an elite sidekick. i believe the bulls got him in a draft day deal. jordan also had probably the 2nd best coach of all time and an at least competent front office. once he started winning, werent bird and magic on the back end of thier careers anyways?

i dont think the bulls would have beaten the great laker or celtic teams...

sean1 · Jul 19, 2010

There was nothing special about Pippen.

Seymour · Jul 20, 2010

sean1 said:
There was nothing special about Pippen.

Yep, he was a real nice player and that's it - Bulls had it easy playing some of the worst teams possible - like the Sonics and Jazz for the title - no way they have 6 rings playing the Spurs or Lakers - they got rings but no 3 peats

Scoops · Jul 20, 2010

Seymour said:
Yep, he was a real nice player and that's it - Bulls had it easy playing some of the worst teams possible - like the Sonics and Jazz for the title - no way they have 6 rings playing the Spurs or Lakers - they got rings but no 3 peats

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying here Seymour.Do you mean that ,if the Bulls had played teams like the Lakers and Spurs they would have rings but no 3peats?If that's the case then which Spurs and Lakers teams are you referring to?Or were you just being sarcastic with the whole post and you're saying that the Lakers and Spurs have rings but no 3peats?I'm confused.