Before the parades, before the banners, and way before anyone thought about putting up statues, the Chicago Bulls had a problem: they weren’t winning. Sure, Michael Jordan was lighting up the league, dropping over 37 points a night in 1987. But despite those jaw-dropping numbers, the Bulls kept falling flat, swept out of the playoffs once again. And the writing was on the wall: one man couldn’t carry the weight of an entire franchise, no matter how great he was.

That’s when Jerry Krause stepped in, seeing something that most didn’t. While the league focused on MJ, Krause was already on the hunt for a co-star—and he found one in a long-limbed forward out of Central Arkansas. He called Scottie Pippen the “quickest, longest-armed, most tremendous lateral quickness combination in the game.” That raw potential didn’t take long to show up—Pippen shattered a training drill record that had held strong for 11 years.

Still, pulling off the deal wasn’t smooth. The Bulls only held the eighth pick in that draft. Seattle had the fifth. But behind closed doors, the Bulls made a bold move—sending Olden Polynice, a second-rounder, and future swap rights to the Sonics for Pippen. At the time, it didn’t cause much noise. But years later? It’s remembered as one of the most one-sided trades ever. Polynice was solid, no doubt, but he never sniffed the level Pippen reached.

Despite the rejection, Polynice didn’t stop. Not even injury. “I had surgery, I broke my hand December 28th 1993 December 29th. I had the surgery and January 20th,” he shared. Even through that, he didn’t sit out long. “I was back on the floor Yes, so they made a Pad for me to withstand the hits and so my thing was this When they tested it, my hands broken.”

Moreover, the pain was brutal—but Polynice didn’t flinch. “It’s still broken, and it hurts like my hell playing Yeah, so I had to like literally turn my head while they hit it with a rubber hammer just to see what the pain threshold was and I was like this,” he added. Still, he had one goal in mind—Rodman. “But I wouldn’t let them see it. Yeah, because I wanted to be back out on the floor, I was number two in the NBA and rebounding at the time chasing Dennis Rodman.”

Eventually, Polynice had enough of being sidelined. “I’m not missing any more days, already been out 20 days. I’m like, oh, no, he’s, and he’s running his stats up, I ended up finishing tied with a team for the second spot,” he said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break. Even with all that, the sting of what Chicago did to land Pippen? It clearly hasn’t faded.

Olden Polynice still haunted by the trade

Landing on a team with Michael Jordan wasn’t just luck—it was every rookie’s golden ticket. But for Olden Polynice, that moment was snatched before it even started. Drafted by the Bulls in 1987, he barely had time to celebrate. The Bulls held the eighth pick. Seattle had the fifth. And behind closed doors, a swap was already locked in. Polynice was headed to the Sonics, while Scottie Pippen was Chicago-bound. “I had no idea,” he later revealed, looking back at the draft-day trade that caught him completely off guard.

Now years later, Polynice still holds onto that what-if. He brought the story back up during an appearance on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast—and didn’t hold back. When asked how many rings he missed out on, he said, “Oh, I have a couple. I definitely have a couple.” Then came the jab everyone remembers: “The Bulls have extras because I didn’t get migraines when I played, unlike somebody.”

Clearly, the sting hasn’t worn off. “But the NBA had these crazy rules where they can’t announce trades until the draft starts,” Polynice said. “So officially we were traded for each other, but it was already done.” He wasn’t even familiar with the guy he got traded for. “Who the h– is Scott Pippen?” he remembered thinking.

The real heartbreak hit seconds later. “I look back at my agent and I’m like, ‘Yo man, what the hell’s going on?’” Polynice recalled. “’Oh, I’ll play with Michael Jordan.’ I’m going crazy. I’m like, ‘Hey yeah.’” But then came the twist: “Y’all need to exchange hats. Y’all been traded for each other.” Just like that, his dream became a lesson in how cold the league could be.