All of this buzz that has been going on for the last year+ about LeBron got me thinking about Jordan. Was there ever a time that Jordan was coming up on free agency that there was even half of the amount of hype about if he would leave Chicago? I don't remember any, but I didn't pay that much attention to the NBA in the early 90s.

i'm pretty sure the last free agent on the level on lebron was shaq after the '96 season. the lakers backed up the brinks truck for the most dominant big man in the game.

jordan got a massive balloon payment from the chicago bulls from 96-98, so i dont think he ever was a true "free agent" in the 90's

I don't remember this much hype for Shaq, but that was pre-mainstream internet era and the Lakers were such an obvious destination. Shaq needed to be close to Hollywood to film the Kazaam sequel. I can't think of another young MVP that was this close to leaving in free agency. Moses Malone left the Rockets in a sign-and-trade type deal, but I think they chose to ship him out.

Has anyone compared this to the ARod free agency of 2000? The last time the best player in the sport was a free agent at a young age. That turned out well...

don't forget it was a-rod and manny ramirez that year.

kevin brown free agency period was nuts, as he was the first 100mil pitcher in 1998.

Jordan was generally locked into long-term lucrative contracts. He had a great deal as the face of Chicago sports and his marketing was phenomenal. He was better off not testing free agent waters, IMO. Plus free agency back then wasn't what it is now....it was reserved more for "role players" than it was the big stars. Most of the stars got locked into long-term deals and teams were in a hurry to renegotiate long before free agency deadlines.

It was a different NBA back then. I kind of miss it. Big-name players generally stuck with their teams, more or less.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 6/29/2010 10:30a).]

free agency is great for the players, but it sucks for the fans;

there is too much player movement from team to team, which prevents fans from getting too "attached" to players

sucks when your biggest star, after a few seasons, goes and signs with your arch-rival and now you have to root against him.

If you look a little closer, the big name players ARE sticking with their teams (at least to this point):

NBA 1st Team - 2010
LeBron - Cleveland
Howard - Orlando
Kobe - L.A.
Durant - OKC
Wade - Miami

NBA 2nd Team
Carmelo - Denver
Dirk - Dallas
Amare - PHO
Nash - PHO (Is actually with original team despite time in Dallas)
Deron Williams

NBA 3rd Team
Duncan - Spurs
Gasol - LAL (Not there by his choice but I'm sure he ain't complaining)
Bogut - Milwaukee
Joe Johnson - ATL (Here is the first culprit)
Brandon Roy - POR

Of the 15 best players in the league -- as voted on by the nation's sportswriters -- only Joe Johnson (as of right now) is guilty of bailing on his original franchise.

Of the folks on this list only LeBron and Amare (and already guilty Joe) might change unis. 20% isn't that high a number...

I don't know what changed, but they have had 2 new collective bargaining agreements since MJ played with the Bulls (99, 05).

I don't know what impacts those have had.

Prior to the '99 lockout the CBA was much different. With the Bird exception, the original team could pay almost an unlimited amount for a player. I remember Jordan getting $35 million a year at one point. No other team could come close to that unless they purged the entire roster.

The Shaq deal was big and it was a surprise. He took quite a bit less money to go to the Lakers. That didn't happen very often.

For most of Jordan's career he was being paid well below market value to allow the Bulls to pay for better teammates.

You won't remember this kind of hype, because we didn't have ESPN trying to find the biggest story of the decade every day.

i dont think jordan allowed the hype, but had he wanted it, he could have gotten it, he just wanted to win

the way "the king" carries himself he just wants everyone to talk about him all day and he's happy

James understands how to market himself. He is more about basketball as a business vs. a competition. That's one reason why he will never be MJ. JMHO