Not long before the 1984 NBA Draft, Rod …

Not long before the 1984 NBA Draft, Rod Thorn received a phone call from the Mavericks. Dallas was about to make a serious play for Michael Jordan. Mavs general manager Rick Sund told Thorn, then the GM of the Bulls, he’d part with All-Star forward Mark Aguirre if Chicago was willing to give up the No. 3 pick, which the Bulls would use to draft Jordan. Sund figured this one had a chance. The Bulls were coming off a 27-win season, and Aguirre was a local hero who drew huge crowds while starring at DePaul. He was the No. 1 pick in the draft only three years before and was coming off of a season as the NBA’s second-leading scorer.