It’s crazy to think that the greatest NBA player of all-time was available on the open market for a spell, even though it came at the tail-end of his career, once he had already retired, and had given baseball a go.
MJ even went as far as to say that he was “99.9 percent” certain he’d remain retired in 1999, however, there was talk heating up about him coming back to the NBA in 2000. Sure enough, he began working out that year, and he later signed with the Wizards in September of 2001.
And apparently, Mark Cuban attempted to lure him to the Mavs at that time instead, during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan.
“The day he signed with the Washington Wizards to come back, David Falk — that’s right when I was buying the Mavs — said ‘why don’t you go meet him?’” Cuban said, as transcribed by Sports Illustrated. “So I went to David Falk’s office and all the papers were right there. And I was trying to convince MJ to not sign them and to do something with the Mavs.”
The opportunity to reunite with Doug Collins and play in a big market such as Washington D.C. was too much for Jordan to pass up. It was a great business opportunity for him, and he cashed in.
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