The six-time Chicago champ could have donned the purple and gold.
Hall of Fame former Chicago Bulls small forward Scottie Pippen knew that, after his team won its sixth championship in eight seasons circa 1998, the club was most likely doomed for a rebuild. Head coach Phil Jackson was allowed to depart in favor of unproven college coach Tim Floyd, superstar shooting guard Michael Jordan retired for the second time.
The six-time Chicago champ and seven-time All-Star could have donned the purple and gold alongside future Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant not once, but twice, after his Bulls prime. The eight-time All-Defensive Teamer revealed in his excellent 2021 memoir"The Lakers were my first choice," Pippen revealed. "With Shaq, 26, and Kobe, only 22, they were the team of the future — perhaps, with me providing veteran leadership, the team of the present.
Instead, Pippen inked a sign-and-trade deal with the Houston Rockets, joining a core of aging fellow Hallow Famers in center Hakeem Olajuwon, shooting guard Clyde Drexler, and power forward Charles Barkley. That club went an impressive 31-19 during a lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, and ultimately fell to the Lakers in the first round that spring.
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