Some people deem Michael Jordan's track record in building teams laughable. However, there were times he did exhibit a knack for finding talent, at least when he was still playing.
For instance, he tried recruiting Jayson Williams to the Chicago Bulls in the 1995 offseason to fill the team's void at the power forward spot. The former New Jersey Nets star returned to his incumbent squad despite what may have been a desperate plea from Jordan. It was also probably a difficult decision for Williams, as he was promised not just one championship.
"He told me all he needs is for me to rebound, and he'll get me two or three rings," said Williams in June 1995, via the Chicago Tribune . "He was all over me. He said I was at the top of the list. He said, 'I had to come all the way to your neighborhood to find you.''"
Jordan waited for an hour
It's unclear how the Bulls legend realized Williams would turn out to be an elite rebounder. Before the 1995 offseason, the big man had been averaging 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in five seasons, mainly as a reserve for the Philadelphia 76ers and then for the Nets. He was good for a couple of big games every now and then, but he had yet to really experience a breakthrough in his career.
Still, Jordan saw something in the New York native, and he was willing to wait for almost an hour in a nightclub in Greenwich Village because he had heard Williams would be visiting the place.
The meeting took place, and the recruiting pitch materialized, although the result probably was different from what MJ expected. Williams eventually proved why he was worth the nearly hour-long wait, as he evolved into one of the league's most fearsome rebounders in the late 1990s.
If he had joined Jordan on the Bulls, perhaps his legacy would have turned out differently. Now, the 1998 All-Star is hardly talked about in NBA discussions, and he has become more known for his gun incidents and a stint in prison.
Mike got a different rebounding specialist
As for the Bulls, they were likely better off not acquiring Williams because it left the door open for them to bring in Dennis Rodman later in the 1995 offseason.
Interestingly, it appeared that "The Worm" wasn't the first player the members of the organization wanted to recruit to help their championship pursuit. Even Phil Jackson once admitted to having Derrick Coleman as the first on his target list and Rodman at the bottom. It's possible that Jordan didn't even consider teaming up with his former rival.
Imagine, though, if Chicago had a different player, such as Williams, as its starting power forward. Completing its second three-peat would have been more challenging, as some people believe Rodman was the Bulls' most important player in the 1996 Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics and was key in limiting Karl Malone in the 1997 and 1998 title bouts.
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