Ex-Bulls GM: Isiah 'never came up' as MJ considered '92 Olympics
Isiah Thomas is still bitter about being left off the United States' 1992 Dream Team and acknowledged that he'd be "more disappointed" if his refusal to shake hands with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls after the 1991 Eastern Conference finals had affected that decision.
Ex-Bulls general manager Rod Thorn, who was a member of the Team USA selection committee, spoke with Jordan about playing in the 1992 Olympics. Thorn played an influential role in assembling the final 12-man squad, and he denies that his former superstar had anything to do with the exclusion of Detroit Pistons icon.
"There was never anything in my conversation with (Jordan) that had to do with Isiah Thomas, period," Thorn said Wednesday on ESPN's "Golic & Wingo." "He said, 'I'll do it.' ... Isiah's name never came up during that conversation. And he never backtracked and said he didn't want to do it from that time on, to those of us in the NBA office.
"Now, if that in fact happened, then it happened with somebody else, because when I talked to him, he ended up saying he would definitely do it."
Although Pistons head coach Chuck Daly was the United States' bench boss, Thomas and the "Bad Boys" weren't on the best of terms with another pair of Dream Team members. Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers engaged in some heated playoff battles against Detroit.
Thorn, who was Bulls GM from 1978-85, doesn't deny Thomas' talent, but he stands by the selection committee's decision.
"There was some controversy with the Pistons regarding not shaking hands with the Bulls - there was some bad blood, obviously, there. ... But when we ended up going with the first 10 guys, he did not end up making the team," Thorn said.
Thorn did note that Jordan was initially unsure about participating after playing for the U.S. in the 1984 Games under head coach Bobby Knight.
The 1992 team went a perfect 8-0 and coasted to a 32-point victory over Croatia in the gold-medal game.