NBA "What ifs"

Since the NBA Finals are going on right now, and since the draft is coming up, I figured that I would do some "what ifs" about the NBA's history:

A. These first ones are about the 1984 NBA Draft:

1. This involves the Dallas Mavericks: That year, if Cleveland would have lost one more game, or if Chicago would have won one more game, they would have been tied, and Dallas may have had the third overall pick that year because they had Cleveland's #1. Also, Dallas could have had Stockton and passed. What if Dallas would have gotten that third pick, taken MJ, and then taken Stockton with their second first rounder?
2. We all know about how the Blazers passed up on Jordan. But, the Rockets had the #1 overall pick, and they could have had him. What if they took Jordan and Portland got Olajuwon?

B. In 1974, what if the 76ers would have won the coin flip over the Blazers and selected Bill Walton?

C. What if the Sixers don't blow a 3-1 lead to the Celtics in the 1968 East Finals, and go on to win a second straight championship? What would Wilt Chamberlain's fate have been then?

D. What if the Suns would have won the Draft Lottery in 1987 instead of San Antonio and selected David Robinson?

E. What if the ABA never existed, or folded after two or three years?
 

MacCaulay

Banned
1. This involves the Dallas Mavericks: That year, if Cleveland would have lost one more game, or if Chicago would have won one more game, they would have been tied, and Dallas may have had the third overall pick that year because they had Cleveland's #1. Also, Dallas could have had Stockton and passed. What if Dallas would have gotten that third pick, taken MJ, and then taken Stockton with their second first rounder?

I can't help but wonder if Stockton going to Dallas would've made him a bit more of a standout. When he was in Utah, he was part of a great lineup, but he was part of it. They had Malone, etc.
At Dallas, he would've definitely been more of the it boy.
 
Very interesting scenarios here, there are plenty of great what-if's for the NBA.

As for the ones you've posted above, I probably can only comment on A and B.

For A, I'm feeling damn sorry for Chicago that's for sure :p It's almost ASB that Chicago picked Jordan up and for the salary as well. What options does it have with Olajuwon and Jordan picked, would it possible to pick Barkley or Stockton at this point or would it have to go with Bowie. Portland is regarded as having made a horrific mistake for picking Bowie instead of Jordan.

If Jordan went to Portland, it would be interesting to see how he gets along with Drexler and whether egos would get in the way. If they managed to somehow build a great friendship and playing relationship, that seems like a formidable Portland team.

I'm not so familiar with Houston at that time, but I think in OTL, they had a decent forward/centre in Sampson. Olajuwon and he formed a great pair. Jordan as a great all-around player and decent passer would also play well for Sampson and the Rockets in general.

And as the Drexler Houston trade a decade later showed, the Drexler/Olajuwon pairing wasn't half-bad as well, so if they had joined together in their physical primes, I'm pretty Portland would do quite nicely.

As I said Chicago would probably be the huge loser in the 84' Draft unless it goes for Stockton or Barkley instead.

As for C, if the Sixers had held onto their lead and won the championship, perhaps Chamberlain wouldn't have felt the pressure to move to the Lakers. He perhaps might have finished out his career in Philly and had a prestigious role in the team's organisation just like Bill Russell for the Celtics.

E looks interesting but I don't know much about the ABA, except that it introduced the extremely popular Slam Dunk Contest, perhaps Julius Erving and Dave Thompson would not gain as much popularity but I doubt it, they were excellent players and surely would still do quite well in the NBA without the ABA.
 
Houston

Quote "I'm not so familiar with Houston at that time, but I think in OTL, they had a decent forward/centre in Sampson. Olajuwon and he formed a great pair. Jordan as a great all-around player and decent passer would also play well for Sampson and the Rockets in general." Quote

I agree. But here is another interesting scenario:

What if the Rockets would have taken Clyde Drexler in 1983 with their second first round draft pick? That would have had huge ramifications.
 
I grew up in Portland, was seven when the Blazers were an expansion team. The only consolations for that draft:

(1) Sam Bowie was a very decent young man, as far as I can tell.

(2) It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. (To be repeated until the weeping subsides)
 
I grew up in Portland, was seven when the Blazers were an expansion team. The only consolations for that draft:

(1) Sam Bowie was a very decent young man, as far as I can tell.

(2) It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. (To be repeated until the weeping subsides)

It's alright, mate, it's alright.:p I understand how you feel, sorta, Basketball used to be cool down here until the greedy bastards in charge bent it over and screwed it silly.

Jab7345 said:
What if the Rockets would have taken Clyde Drexler in 1983 with their second first round draft pick? That would have had huge ramifications.

Wow, I see. Indeed I could imagine a huge impact that is if Olajuwon is still chosen the following year. Then again (according to the Armenian Genocide), Ralph Sampson was on the same draft and was listed #1 whereas Drexler was listed as #14, what would have convinced the Houston organisation to go for Drexler instead?
 
Bowie

Quote "(2) It's only a game. It's only a game. It's only a game. (To be repeated until the weeping subsides)" Quote

Well, that is fitting. The Bowie saga was almost as scary as Last House on the Left(lol). But, at least they got Buck Williams out of it. They acquired him 20 years ago from the Nets for Bowie. He was a missing piece of the puzzle for those early-90's Blazers teams.

Some other NBA "What ifs"

1. The Suns drafted George Gervin in the 1974 Draft, but lost him to the Spurs. Also, they passed on Jamaal Wilkes and Maurice Lucas in the first round to take John Shumate. What if they would have drafted one of those other two guys and kept the Iceman?
2. What if the Warriors would have held on to Robert Parish and drafted Kevin McHale in 1980 instead of trading Parish to Boston?
3. What if Willis Reed didn't play at all in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals?
 
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