In an interview for a forthcoming book, Harold Katz, the former Sixers owner, revealed something that he offered Julius Erving, the Hall of Fame forward, to Chicago on the eve of the 1984 draft for the third overall pick, which the Bulls used to select Michael Jordan.
“I thought I had a deal with Jonathan Kovler (then the principal owner) of the Bulls for the third pick,” Katz told Pat Williams, once the Sixers’ general manager, in an interview for “Pat Williams’ Tales of the 1982-83 76ers.”
Ultimately, Katz said, “Rod Thorn [then the Bulls’ general manager] killed that one and took Michael Jordan. I would have made that deal.”
Thorn, now the president of the New Jersey Nets , confirmed to Williams that Kovler approached him about such a deal, and that he rejected it.
