Sports What Ifs.

[AltSptHst]

Richard

J.R. Richard's complaints of feeling "dead arm" are taken more seriously by Astros management and trainers and he's seen by more competent doctors, who immediately and successfully treat the obstruction in the distal subclavian and axillary arteries of the right arm in 1980, thus preventing him from suffering his career ending stroke.

I remember hearing about that. He was a pretty good pitcher before his stroke. Him and Ryan may have pitched the Astros to two WS titles in a row in 1980 and 81 if J.R. would have been available.

Here are a few more:

1. Ben Wilson, a Chicago HS Basketball phenom, isn't shot and killed on the street in November 1984, and he goes to Illinois the next fall with his friend, Nick Anderson. With Nick, Ben, Ken Norman, and Kendall Gill, the Illini win back-to-back NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988. Then, Ben goes pro after the second title, and he is drafted by the Clippers #1 overall.

2. The Jets draft S Ronnie Lott in the first round in 1981, and they take Missouri RB James Wilder in Round 2.

 

[Sigma7]

I remember hearing about that. He was a pretty good pitcher before his stroke. Him and Ryan may have pitched the Astros to two WS titles in a row in 1980 and 81 if J.R. would have been available.

Here are a few more:

1. Ben Wilson, a Chicago HS Basketball phenom, isn't shot and killed on the street in November 1984, and he goes to Illinois the next fall with his friend, Nick Anderson. With Nick, Ben, Ken Norman, and Kendall Gill, the Illini win back-to-back NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988. Then, Ben goes pro after the second title, and he is drafted by the Clippers #1 overall.

2. The Jets draft S Ronnie Lott in the first round in 1981, and they take Missouri RB James Wilder in Round 2.

In 1980, depending on how early he felt it and got it checked, he probably would have missed a good chunk of the season. If it's properly treated at the time he reported it, depending on the procedures available at the time, there's a good chance he misses the rest of the 1980 season.

BUT

He comes back full strength in '81, with the split season, I figure, teamed with Ryan, Sutton, Joe Niekro and Bob Knepper, that's a sick rotation that might very well end up creating an uncomfortable post-season dilemma for the NL: Astros winning BOTH halves of the season in the west.

Pitching like that could've won them the Series in '81 at least, if they keep it together and add a bat, they might repeat in '82, or even a third in '83.

Don't know enough about info about #1, but #2, Jets take Lott?

Can't say just one guy would dismember the 49er dynasty of the 80's, BUT, they'd have to draft someone close to Lott's abilities and stack with another safety to compensate.

Tricky, but Bill Walsh had a knack for picking up hidden treasures in the draft so don't count them out.

The Jets...harder to say. Lott makes their backfield in the 80's very tough to beat with the pass. If they build wisely, they could take a defense heavy team to a Super Bowl title or two in the 80's, I suppose.

 

[AltSptHst]

Easley

In 1980, depending on how early he felt it and got it checked, he probably would have missed a good chunk of the season. If it's properly treated at the time he reported it, depending on the procedures available at the time, there's a good chance he misses the rest of the 1980 season.

BUT

He comes back full strength in '81, with the split season, I figure, teamed with Ryan, Sutton, Joe Niekro and Bob Knepper, that's a sick rotation that might very well end up creating an uncomfortable post-season dilemma for the NL: Astros winning BOTH halves of the season in the west.

Pitching like that could've won them the Series in '81 at least, if they keep it together and add a bat, they might repeat in '82, or even a third in '83.

Don't know enough about info about #1, but #2, Jets take Lott?

Can't say just one guy would dismember the 49er dynasty of the 80's, BUT, they'd have to draft someone close to Lott's abilities and stack with another safety to compensate.

Tricky, but Bill Walsh had a knack for picking up hidden treasures in the draft so don't count them out.

The Jets...harder to say. Lott makes their backfield in the 80's very tough to beat with the pass. If they build wisely, they could take a defense heavy team to a Super Bowl title or two in the 80's, I suppose.

If they didn't get Lott, there is a good chance that Walsh trades down about 6-10 slots and takes Dennis Smith or Hanford Dixon. Bill was on a mission to revamp the entire 49er secondary that year.

 

[Sigma7]

If they didn't get Lott, maybe he would have traded down, stockpiled picks, and taken either S Dennis Smith or CB Hanford Dixon because Walsh wanted to draft several DB's that year. These guys weren't quite as good as Lott, but they were both good in their own right, and would have helped the Niners a great deal.

Actually, Kenny Easley at #3 would fit nicely here. Easley wasn't Lott, but he was a 3 time 1st Team All Pro and 5 time Pro Bowler in 7 seasons as a starter.

They can still take Wilder instead of Barber, or, perhaps trade up to the Chargers (Coryell did have his sights on the 1983 Draft a couple years in advance) and take James Brooks at #24?

Of course, the Seahawks probably take McNeil at #4...which makes 1983 more interesting. They don't need Warner if they've got McNeil.

How'd Seattle end up with the #3 pick in 1983, BTW?

As I understand it:

Baltimore got the #1 pick with their 0-8-1 record in '82.

Houston at 1-8 had the #2 pick, but traded it to LA who moved up one space from #3 which they secured via a 2-7 record and a loss to the 2-7 Broncos who got the #4 pick.

Here's where I get lost on the 1983 draft:

How'd Seattle end up with the #3 pick with a 4-5 record ahead of the Bears, Chiefs and Eagles who all finished 3-6?

I know San Diego had made deals to stockpile picks in the '83 draft, but who'd they get the #5 pick from? The 'Niners? But how? 'Niners beat the Chiefs head to head in '82, so they should have picked behind the Chiefs but picks 5-9 went:

5. Chargers
6. Bears
7. Chiefs
8. Eagles
9. Houston (Huh?)

Rounding out the top ten were the 4-5 Giants, the first out of six teams with that record. (Excluding the Seahawks who went 3rd) and somehow, the 4-5 Bills picked twice in there at #12 and #14. All while the 5-3-1 Packers somehow picked 11th.

(Wish Pro Football Reference.Com annotated the drafts with where the picks came from...)

If I knew where Seattle got the pick from, I could probably figure which way they go in the 1983 draft if they end up with McNeil at 4th in '81. Maybe they stay where they would have picked normally and taken a QB? Jim Kelly?

I dunno...

 

[MacCaulay]

Okay...here's a crazy challenge that's been the core of many arguments with my friends over the years: The Blue Jays won the Series handily in '92 and '93. They pretty much dominated the division for a few years before that. So, after at least 4 years as a top drawer team and 2 World Series victories, the Jays fell apart in '94.

How could they get at least an ALCS title in '94? (not saying "at least" like it's something small, but after what they'd done...come on, Jays!)

 

[Sigma7]

Okay...here's a crazy challenge that's been the core of many arguments with my friends over the years: The Blue Jays won the Series handily in '92 and '93. They pretty much dominated the division for a few years before that. So, after at least 4 years as a top drawer team and 2 World Series victories, the Jays fell apart in '94.

How could they get at least an ALCS title in '94? (not saying "at least" like it's something small, but after what they'd done...come on, Jays!)

They had the bats, but the pitching was shot by '94. Meanwhile, the Yankees pitching had improved, they had the bats to match, also, the O's were starting their mini-boom period and had the bats and arms to beat them also, so they've got an uphill climb.

You need Al Leiter to get healthy and blossom sooner (injuries killed what could have been a HOF career there) than he did in OTL and Juan Guzman's arm not to fall apart on him (tragic as Guzman was a hell of a pitcher before his arm went dead.), and they need to swing a deal to replace Stewart (who was done) probably before the season starts, or when it became obvious he was done, trade for a starting pitcher around the All Star break or at the very least make a move at the trade deadline.

With KC in contention in 1994, they're not getting Cone, and despite being God awful, hard to pilfer an arm from any of the teams in the AL West as even though they were all under .500, they were still all in contention for a playoff spot. (UGH.)

They weren't going to get any arms out of the AL, but in the NL...

With the 'Spos running away with the NL East and the Mets nowhere near Wild Card contention, Bret Saberhagen could have been an option, depending on what the Jays were willing to give up (or, considering the Mets of the period take with Saberhagen) for a guy with his last good season in him.

Zane Smith from the Pirates could have been a quality option but other than that, veteran pitching that would have really made a difference was at a premium; the NL West was every bit as bad as the AL West, but the Pads had their fire sale a year earlier. Perhaps if the Jays had jumped a year earlier they could have grabbed Greg Harris. People point to Harris's collapse after the trade to Colorado, but...that really probably had more to do with pitching in Colorado screwing up his head mechanics and arm.

So, those are a few POD's or possible moves they could have made that could have gotten them into the playoffs at least, provided what they got was enough to knock off Baltimore and then stay ahead of KC and Cleveland in a wild card that would have gone down to the wire.

If, of course, there'd actually been a 1994 post season.

Even with the moves or PODs, the '94 Strike may be a mountain of stupid that only the ASBs could overcome, sadly.

 

[MacCaulay]

They had the bats, but the pitching was shot by '94. Meanwhile, the Yankees pitching had improved, they had the bats to match, also, the O's were starting their mini-boom period and had the bats and arms to beat them also, so they've got an uphill climb.

I always thought it was kind of odd that the Blue Jays more or less sold off their World Series lineup bit by bit to the Yankees, like they were handing the good players off on the way down to the team that was on the way up.

They weren't going to get any arms out of the AL, but in the NL...

With the 'Spos running away with the NL East and the Mets nowhere near Wild Card contention, Bret Saberhagen could have been an option, depending on what the Jays were willing to give up (or, considering the Mets of the period take with Saberhagen) for a guy with his last good season in him.

Saberhagen was with the Mets in '94? For some reason I thought he was with Kansas City.

If, of course, there'd actually been a 1994 post season.

Even with the moves or PODs, the '94 Strike may be a mountain of stupid that only the ASBs could overcome, sadly.

Amen. Amen.

 

[DesertPilot]

Conventional team sports? Dull dull dull. How about something like this...

Peter Westbrook Wins Four Gold Medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Montreal, Canada. In a surprise upset, Peter Westbrook, the youngest fencer on the US Olympic Team, won gold medals in individual foil, epee, and sabre, and lead the US team to victory in team sabre. Young, photogenic, immensely popular with the crowd...

...In the months that follow, inspired by the popular youth and the success of recent swashbucklers such as Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, fencing in the US undergoes a wild surge of popularity, relegating mundane sports such as golf to the obscurity they so richly deserve and challenging baseball and football for domination of the airwaves. Throughout the nation, from inner cities to midwestern farms, young men and women are crossing blades and learning to thrust, parry, and riposte with the best of them. Games of 'Pickup Swashbuckling' flourish on the streets of the Big Apple. Would-be d'Artagnans appear by the hundreds in small towns everywhere.

"It's the True American Sport," raves Howard Cosell. "It combines courage, fitness, inspiration, and speed -- all that is best in the American spirit..."

 

[AltSptHst]

Seattle

Actually, Kenny Easley at #3 would fit nicely here. Easley wasn't Lott, but he was a 3 time 1st Team All Pro and 5 time Pro Bowler in 7 seasons as a starter.

They can still take Wilder instead of Barber, or, perhaps trade up to the Chargers (Coryell did have his sights on the 1983 Draft a couple years in advance) and take James Brooks at #24?

Of course, the Seahawks probably take McNeil at #4...which makes 1983 more interesting. They don't need Warner if they've got McNeil.

How'd Seattle end up with the #3 pick in 1983, BTW?

As I understand it:

Baltimore got the #1 pick with their 0-8-1 record in '82.

Houston at 1-8 had the #2 pick, but traded it to LA who moved up one space from #3 which they secured via a 2-7 record and a loss to the 2-7 Broncos who got the #4 pick.

Here's where I get lost on the 1983 draft:

How'd Seattle end up with the #3 pick with a 4-5 record ahead of the Bears, Chiefs and Eagles who all finished 3-6?

I know San Diego had made deals to stockpile picks in the '83 draft, but who'd they get the #5 pick from? The 'Niners? But how? 'Niners beat the Chiefs head to head in '82, so they should have picked behind the Chiefs but picks 5-9 went:

5. Chargers
6. Bears
7. Chiefs
8. Eagles
9. Houston (Huh?)

Rounding out the top ten were the 4-5 Giants, the first out of six teams with that record. (Excluding the Seahawks who went 3rd) and somehow, the 4-5 Bills picked twice in there at #12 and #14. All while the 5-3-1 Packers somehow picked 11th.

(Wish Pro Football Reference.Com annotated the drafts with where the picks came from...)

If I knew where Seattle got the pick from, I could probably figure which way they go in the 1983 draft if they end up with McNeil at 4th in '81. Maybe they stay where they would have picked normally and taken a QB? Jim Kelly?

I dunno...

BTW, here is a good site for Draft pick transactions:

http://www.prosportstransactions.com/

In 1983, the Seahawks got the #3 pick because of a trade with the Oilers. They sent the 9th overall pick, their second-rounder, and their third-rounder to the Oilers for the third overall pick, which they used on Warner.

As for 1981, if the Jets take Easley instead of McNeil, which they should have, then I think that the Seahawks would have taken LB Hugh Green out of Pitt. That is who Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated had them taking that year in his mock draft. They really needed defensive help in the worst way.

A few picks later, I think that the Bucs, who took Green in OTL, would have taken Ronnie Lott instead. That leaves the Niners with a dilemma. Walsh was adamant on improving the worst secondary in football going into that draft, and I think that he trades down and targets either Dennis Smith or Hanford Dixon. Denver, at the 15th slot, would have been a good partner since McNeil could have helped us in a big way. So, the Broncs trade their 81 #1 and #2 picks and RB Tony Reed to SF for the 8th overall pick, and choose Freeman. Then, the Niners take S Dennis Smith with the 15th overall selection, and with three second-rounders, take DE John Harty, CB Eric Wright, and with the pick we gave them, take DE/OLB Rickey Jackson.

As for Seattle, I think that they still get Warner two years later. They could have had Marcus Allen in 1982, but they passed him up in favor of DE Jeff Bryant out of Clemson because Patera wanted to improve their defense.

 

[Sigma7]

Thanks for the site tip, Jab. Found it very useful for this post.

The NHL/WHA merger goes through in '76 rather than '79 and the minimum draft age stays at 20.

Draft Day 1981 is a media event as the hockey world will finally find out: Who Gets Gretz?

There's rumors that the Pengos actually threw the last six (or 12 of their last 14, depending on who you talk to) games of the 1983-84 season to secure the #1 pick in 1984 and draft Mario Lemieux.

Gretzky was already well known in Canada by his early teens, but after his 182 point season in juniors in 1977-78, everybody know his name and everybody's counting down the days to the '81 draft.

Doubtful the Red Wings would make this deal:

> Kings — Traded Dale McCourt, rights to restricted free agent Rogie Vachon to Red Wings for Andre St. Laurent, 1980 first round pick (#4-Larry Murphy), 1980 second round pick or 1981 first round pick (Kings option) (1981 #2-Doug Smith) on 1979-08-22

if it could cost them Gretz?

Would anyone trade away first rounders (without getting a first rounder in return) from '78 up to draft day '81?

How big a bonanza would the 1981 draft be in and of it's self?

Players eligible under the old rules:

Mark Messier
Paul Coffey
Ray Borque
Glenn Anderson
Mike Ramsey
Denis Savard
Larry Murphy
Bernie Nicholls
Steve Larmer
Dave Babych
Clint Malarchuk
Kelly Hrudey
Mike Bullard

and, of course, Gretz.

Obviously, this kills the Oiler dynasty; four of the biggest pieces (Gretz, Mess, Coffey and Anderson) are all going in this draft and the Oilers will be lucky to get 1 of them, let alone 2 and there's no possible way they get three or all four.

Maybe they get Gretz with #1 pick, but what sort of offers are they going to be turning down from the big franchises to keep him (or the pick itself)?

How does this affect the NHL in the 1980s and beyond? 1985 will be an interesting year for the draft: Lemieux, Yzerman and LaFontaine all eligible.

How would it effect the way draft picks are traded?

 

[Fiji]

WI FIFA had remained firm on schwalbes (dives) AFTER the '94 world cup in the US.
During the world cup numerous player got booked and even sent off for schwalbes. It did wonders for the enjoyment level of the later games.
but pretty much immediatly after the world cup the national FAs forgot about it.
So, WI FIFA keeps reminding the FAs about schwalbes ... do we see any significant change in the game by 2009?

 

[AltSptHst]

WHA MERGER

Thanks for the site tip, Jab. Found it very useful for this post.

The NHL/WHA merger goes through in '76 rather than '79 and the minimum draft age stays at 20.

Draft Day 1981 is a media event as the hockey world will finally find out: Who Gets Gretz?

There's rumors that the Pengos actually threw the last six (or 12 of their last 14, depending on who you talk to) games of the 1983-84 season to secure the #1 pick in 1984 and draft Mario Lemieux.

Gretzky was already well known in Canada by his early teens, but after his 182 point season in juniors in 1977-78, everybody know his name and everybody's counting down the days to the '81 draft.

Doubtful the Red Wings would make this deal:

> Kings — Traded Dale McCourt, rights to restricted free agent Rogie Vachon to Red Wings for Andre St. Laurent, 1980 first round pick (#4-Larry Murphy), 1980 second round pick or 1981 first round pick (Kings option) (1981 #2-Doug Smith) on 1979-08-22

if it could cost them Gretz?

Would anyone trade away first rounders (without getting a first rounder in return) from '78 up to draft day '81?

How big a bonanza would the 1981 draft be in and of it's self?

Players eligible under the old rules:

Mark Messier
Paul Coffey
Ray Borque
Glenn Anderson
Mike Ramsey
Denis Savard
Larry Murphy
Bernie Nicholls
Steve Larmer
Dave Babych
Clint Malarchuk
Kelly Hrudey
Mike Bullard

and, of course, Gretz.

Obviously, this kills the Oiler dynasty; four of the biggest pieces (Gretz, Mess, Coffey and Anderson) are all going in this draft and the Oilers will be lucky to get 1 of them, let alone 2 and there's no possible way they get three or all four.

Maybe they get Gretz with #1 pick, but what sort of offers are they going to be turning down from the big franchises to keep him (or the pick itself) What?

How does this affect the NHL in the 1980s and beyond? 1985 will be an interesting year for the draft: Lemieux, Yzerman and LaFontaine all eligible.

How would it effect the way draft picks are traded?

If the NHL-WHA merger would have taken place in 1976 instead of 1979, there probably would have been more teams taken than four. There were 12 WHA teams to choose from that year as opposed to only six in 1979. The three locks would have been the Nordiques, Houston Aeros, and Winnipeg Jets. After that, it is hard to say, but my guess is that they probably would have taken two to three more teams in that situation. As for the candidates for the other three slots, I think that the San Diego Mariners would have been one. The Seals were getting ready to move to Cleveland, and the Mariners could have replaced them as California's second team.

As for the other two, it is hard to say. Maybe the Oilers don't get put into the NHL in this scenario. They didn't have a very good team at the time. I think that they would have gone with Cincinnati, since Cleveland just got a team from Oakland, and the Calgary Cowboys.

 

[AltSptHst]

Oden and Bowie

Here is one that I thought of since Greg Oden got hurt:

What if Sam Bowie didn't miss the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons at Kentucky with injuries, and entered the NBA draft in 1982 or 83?

 

[Sigma7]

Here is one that I thought of since Greg Oden got hurt:

What if Sam Bowie didn't miss the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons at Kentucky with injuries, and entered the NBA draft in 1982 or 83?

Looking at the numbers he put up with the injuries, I think it wouldn't be a stretch to say, at the very least he'd have been a regular All-Star.

Where he goes in either of those drafts ('82 or '83) depends on how the scouts feel a fully healthy Bowie stacks up against Sampson (in '83), but even if the Rockets take Sampson, I figure the Pacers (unless they're struck by sudden, irreversible retardation) take a healthy Bowie at #2 over Stipanovich.

Even more intriguing would be '82. He would easily be the best available center in that draft, but the question becomes is he a legit #1 pick?

If he is, do the Lakers still take Worthy at #1 or do they trade down (To the Clippers, at #2, perhaps?) and still take Worthy, OR do they keep the pick and take a healthy Bowie as the eventual successor to Kareem?

The Lakers with Magic, Kareem and a healthy Bowie (better still, how about Magic learns some self control and doesn't contract HIV)...that could be a team that challenges the Celts of the 60's for the term "Dominant Franchise", even after Kareem calls it quits.

 

[The Vulture]

So what if Kareem Abdul Jabbar leaves basketball and pursues a martial arts/ acting career?

 

[PoorBoy]

Football Rules WI

Here's one that would be interesting for football:

What if players are still required to ground the ball in the endzone to score a touchdown (or it is re-introduced in football)? Grounding the ball is still a requirement in rugby, and the word 'touchdown' itself suggests that you have to 'down' the ball in a place that 'touches' the endzone.

 

[AltSptHst]

Jordan

Looking at the numbers he put up with the injuries, I think it wouldn't be a stretch to say, at the very least he'd have been a regular All-Star.

Where he goes in either of those drafts ('82 or '83) depends on how the scouts feel a fully healthy Bowie stacks up against Sampson (in '83), but even if the Rockets take Sampson, I figure the Pacers (unless they're struck by sudden, irreversible retardation) take a healthy Bowie at #2 over Stipanovich.

Even more intriguing would be '82. He would easily be the best available center in that draft, but the question becomes is he a legit #1 pick?

If he is, do the Lakers still take Worthy at #1 or do they trade down (To the Clippers, at #2, perhaps?) and still take Worthy, OR do they keep the pick and take a healthy Bowie as the eventual successor to Kareem?

The Lakers with Magic, Kareem and a healthy Bowie (better still, how about Magic learns some self control and doesn't contract HIV)...that could be a team that challenges the Celts of the 60's for the term "Dominant Franchise", even after Kareem calls it quits.

If a healthy Bowie would have came out in 82, him and James Worthy would have been considered the best candidates for that #1 pick. And, since the Lakers had PF's Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo at that time, I can see them taking Bowie to eventually take over for Kareem. As a result, James Worthy would fall to the Clippers at #2, the Jazz at 3 would take Terry Cummings, and the Mavericks would take Dominique Wilkins with the fourth pick. The Lakers would be even more dominant with their twin towers, and Dallas would have just acquired another piece to their championship puzzle.

However, if Sam waits until 83, I agree that the Pacers would have taken him over Stipanovich with the #2 pick. Stipanovich probably would have dropped to the Clippers with the 4 pick after the Rockets took Rodney McCray with the third pick. A Worthy-Stipanovich pairing in Clipperland could have been pretty good, if the Clippers didn't screw it up. And, in this alternate reality, since the Clippers don't take Byron Scott, He could have fell to the Mavericks with the ninth pick. He could have provided a budding Dallas team with a three-point specialist.

Another sidenote to this: Without Bowie, who would the Blazers take in 1984? They still would have gotten Drexler in 1983, so that's a toughy. Jordan probably would have been the pick, but that's no guarantee with Drexler and Jim Paxson on the team. So, we may have been looking at Barkley or Sam Perkins in a Portland uniform. If that happened, and if the Mavs took MJ, can you say dynasty in Dallas with MJ, Nique, Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, James Donaldson, Byron Scott, Derek Harper, etc...? Also, Dallas could have had Karl Malone in 1985 as well. Scary. As Bill Simmons would say, "Dallas fans, you can now light yourselves on fire".

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

1. KC Chiefs upset the GB Packers in Superbowl I?

You know, a WI that involved the Packers being a team from Great Britain would be very different....

 

[Sigma7]

If a healthy Bowie would have came out in 82, him and James Worthy would have been considered the best candidates for that #1 pick. And, since the Lakers had PF's Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo at that time, I can see them taking Bowie to eventually take over for Kareem. As a result, James Worthy would fall to the Clippers at #2, the Jazz at 3 would take Terry Cummings, and the Mavericks would take Dominique Wilkins with the fourth pick. The Lakers would be even more dominant with their twin towers, and Dallas would have just acquired another piece to their championship puzzle.

However, if Sam waits until 83, I agree that the Pacers would have taken him over Stipanovich with the #2 pick. Stipanovich probably would have dropped to the Clippers with the 4 pick after the Rockets took Rodney McCray with the third pick. A Worthy-Stipanovich pairing in Clipperland could have been pretty good, if the Clippers didn't screw it up. And, in this alternate reality, since the Clippers don't take Byron Scott, He could have fell to the Mavericks with the ninth pick. He could have provided a budding Dallas team with a three-point specialist.

Another sidenote to this: Without Bowie, who would the Blazers take in 1984? They still would have gotten Drexler in 1983, so that's a toughy. Jordan probably would have been the pick, but that's no guarantee with Drexler and Jim Paxson on the team. So, we may have been looking at Barkley or Sam Perkins in a Portland uniform. If that happened, and if the Mavs took MJ, can you say dynasty in Dallas with MJ, Nique, Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, James Donaldson, Byron Scott, Derek Harper, etc...? Also, Dallas could have had Karl Malone in 1985 as well. Scary. As Bill Simmons would say, "Dallas fans, you can now light yourselves on fire".

Hmmmm...that part right there that I bolded, the Western Conference finals would probably turn into the de facto NBA Championship for quite some time.

What if the Lakers don't sign Kupchak and hold on to their '83 first rounder then package their '83 and '84 first rounders (plus some sweetener) to get a high pick in '85?

They're stuffed with big men at this point. They need a small forward. Trade up for X-Man at #4 or Mullin at #7?

Hell, Mullin could just as easily play SG: Magic and Mullin for "World Killer" back court, Kareem and Bowie/Bowie and whoever after Kareem retires to pull down whatever they miss!

Still need to fill that SF slot though...

 

[AltSptHst]

Aguirre

Hmmmm...that part right there that I bolded, the Western Conference finals would probably turn into the de facto NBA Championship for quite some time.

What if the Lakers don't sign Kupchak and hold on to their '83 first rounder then package their '83 and '84 first rounders (plus some sweetener) to get a high pick in '85?

They're stuffed with big men at this point. They need a small forward. Trade up for X-Man at #4 or Mullin at #7?

Hell, Mullin could just as easily play SG: Magic and Mullin for "World Killer" back court, Kareem and Bowie/Bowie and whoever after Kareem retires to pull down whatever they miss!

Still need to fill that SF slot though...

Maybe the Lakers could trade Norm Nixon to Dallas for Mark Aguirre to fill that slot. Dallas wouldn't need him as much in this reality, since they would have the Human Highlight Film at that position.

However, imagine if everything else happened as it did in reality, with the exception of Bowie being a star on the Lakers, and the Lakers trading up in 1985 to draft McDaniel. If Magic doesn't abort his comeback attempt in 1992-93, they could have been a thorn in Chicago's side. The X-Man was tough on Pippen in that 92 Knick-Bull series. And, the Bulls wouldn't have a big man to match Bowie if he was what he should have been, not a walking disabled list.