There is nothing more fun in the world of sports than "what if?" arguments. What if the Red Sox never sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees? What if Bo Jackson never injured his hip? What if Tony Conigliaro was never beaned in the head? The questions are endless. I was reading an old NBA.com article last week that brought up another question: What if the Bulls had drafted Magic Johnson in 1979? Sound far-fetched? It isn't. As it turns out, Chicago was only a coin flip away from changing history. 
The Bulls lost a coin flip to the Lakers in 1979 to decide who would get that year's first draft pick (unanimously thought to be Magic Johnson). Since Larry Bird had already been signed by Boston the previous year (under now-defunct rules), the Bulls had to settle for David Greenwood. But suppose the wind blew differently that day and they had won that coin flip and selected Magic. They almost certainly would not have gotten MJ five years later, but the great Bulls dynasty still might have reigned. The following is a four-step explanation (admittedly far-fetched) of how the Bull's dynasty might have been even greater than it was:
Step 1: Win the coin toss and select Magic Johnson in 1979
Step 2: Select Charles Barkley in 1984
Even with Magic on the team, the Bulls still might have been bad enough in 1984 to get a top-5 pick. Magic stepped onto a Lakers team that already had Kareem. The Bulls had virtually nobody and were the worst team in the league. Magic wouldn't have had the same immediate impact on Chicago as he did in LA. So let's say the Bulls get better gradually over the next four seasons and probably pick up another good draft pick before that 1984 draft. They're a decent team now, but not a great team. So they still probably have a high pick, but probably not as high as three. The number five pick in that draft was Charles Barkley. The number 11 was Kevin Willis and the number 16 was John Stockton. Magic and Barkley would have been phenomenal, the best point guard 
and perhaps the best power forward of all time, both playing on the same team. Willis was another great-but-not-iconic player who would have been a Pippen-type to Magic's Jordan. If the Bulls had picked Stockton, they would have likely shifted Magic out of the point, but they probably wouldn't have drafted a point guard anyway. For the sake of argument, let's say the Bulls miss out on Michael but instead pick Barkley at five. Now we're looking at a core of Magic and Charles, side by side, in Chicago.
Step 3: Select Joe Dumars in 1985
In real life, the Bulls passed up Karl Malone and Joe Dumars with the 11th pick. In our fantasy world, let's say Magic and Charles bring them to the playoffs in 1985. Dumars eventually went at 18, still deep enough that the Bulls could have picked him even if they had made the playoffs in '84. Dumars slides into Jordan's 2-spot in the Bulls lineup - now it's Magic, Barkley, and Dumars at the core of the Bulls' 
roster.
Step 4: The Pippen Trade of 1987
You know what comes next: the Bulls acquire Scottie Pippen from Seattle in that famous 1987 trade.
Magic at the point, Barkley at the 4, Scottie at the 3, Dumars at the 2. Even with Luc Longley at center, that might just be the best starting lineup to ever take the court. You can't tell me that team doesn't win multiple titles without Jordan. AND if we're doing this hypothetically, Magic's schedule is different in Chicago and he never sleeps with that woman and gets HIV. Hey, this is my blog -- I'm allowed to change history. So the Bulls dynasty begins earlier now - in the 80's - and continues with a healthy Magic until the late 1990's.
Who needs MJ when you have that?
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