This is the ninth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."

This had to be the season. Everyone knew it. The Bulls weren't going to ride this team forever.

It was Michael Jordan's seventh season in the NBA, and just about every one of his personnel suggestions had been rejected. He wanted Walter Davis. He wanted Buck Williams. By now he'd had enough with the kids, two playoffs of Scottie Pippen disappearing, of Horace Grant going way too fast and out of control.