“Michael Jordan Did Most of His Talking Through the Media”: When Former Bulls Teammate Claimed He Never Focused on MJ’s Reaction to Him ‘Replacing’ Charles Oakley

In a 2020 interview with Roy Johnson of AL.com, Bill Cartwright opened up about his time in Chicago playing with one of the finest and most successful squads in the league’s history. The interviewer could not help but ask Cartwright about the locker room atmosphere after he was traded to the Bulls. Johnson wanted to know how Michael Jordan reacted to the former Chicago Bulls Center replacing his dear friend, Charles Oakley on the roster.

Johnson asked, “When you arrived, did you sense any trepidation or what was the reaction of Michael Jordan to your arrival?”

Cartwright joined the Bulls in 1988 at a time when the team was struggling to get out of the East. However, he would eventually become part of the first Championship three-peat of the franchise.

MJ wasn’t the best when it came to maintaining his off-court relationship with his teammates. Several Bulls players have revealed their qualms regarding this, especially when Oakley was MJ’s good friend. Cartwright added to this narrative while answering Johnson’s question.

“Well, Michael never has a reaction, it’s always second hand. Uh, it’s Michael’s friend so he doesn’t like it and I’m like, ‘He didn’t say anything to me.’ But I mean clearly, Michael [Jordan] did most of the talking through the media and whispering.”

Cartwright explained that MJ didn’t excel in direct communication-the only way he communicated was through the media or through his sources. However, the veteran center didn’t have a problem with it because by then he had almost seen everything after spending a decade in New York.

It’s pretty clear that Michael Jordan didn’t like his friend being replaced by Cartwright. In fact, he hated it. Several accounts of Jordan’s reaction following the trade, including those by Roland Lazenby and Sam Smith, detail how the Bulls star lashed out against it. He also allegedly made it difficult for Cartwright to fit into the team and threw him hard passes in practice to make him look bad.

While answering questions about him being a selfish player on the court, MJ once sounded off on Cartwright, “The whole offense is set for Cartwright to score as many points as he can. If he can’t score, that’s his damn problem. All I can do is throw him the ball. I can’t make him move.”

However, the Bulls legend soon realized that it was necessary to make sacrifices to get past the powerhouses in the Eastern Conference. Jordan became aware that the Bulls roster, as constructed back then, wasn’t good enough to take on the Celtics and the Pistons. Therefore, unpleasant decisions were necessary. These unpleasant changes eventually led to the Bulls beating the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.

The addition of Bill Cartwright fueled the Chicago roster

The Chicago Bulls acquired Bill Cartwright in a 1988 trade with the New York Knicks, which saw Charles Oakley move to the Big Apple in return. The Knicks also swapped the first and third-round picks as they fulfilled their need for a forward. And even though Oakley was close to MJ, it seems the Bulls benefitted the most from the deal.

Although Cartwright finally came out of Patrick Ewing’s shadow to bloom in Chicago, he found himself beside another major star in Michael Jordan. However, the team found a strong defensive presence in the low post, which fit well with the offensive firepower. Moreover, the development of Horace Grant, in place of Oakley, gave the team a cushion for acquiring a young Center and a strong presence in the paint.

Eventually, MJ won his first championship with, Cartwright on the roster averaging 12.3-6.7-1.2, adding immense value to both sides of the court.