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Peter May On The Rebuilding Of The Bulls
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
ON BASKETBALL
So what's game plan?
Bulls have decisions to make
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 01/13/99
He got a glimpse of the new Chicago Bulls last June 14, in Game 6 of
the NBA Finals. Scottie Pippen was on the bench with a bad back and
Michael Jordan was getting a rare breather. The team looked horrible.
Now the Bulls know that their rebuilding can begin. Right now the team has
only four players under contract for this season - Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc,
Keith Booth, and Randy Brown. The Bulls had a league-high 10 free agents,
which are now down to nine. Some of those - Pippen, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr,
maybe even Dennis Rodman - may stay on the Bulls' salary cap while the team
decides which way to go.
There are two alternatives. The Bulls can use their cap money to lure
someone such as Antonio McDyess, whom vice president Jerry Krause loves,
then try to re-sign Pippen and Longley and win with that group. The other is
to take a big hit this season and get ready for the summer, when they'd get
a good draft pick and have oodles of money to spend on a list of free agents
that may include Antoine Walker, Ray Allen, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Glen Rice,
and Stephon Marbury.
Krause said Monday that he would try to rebuild around Pippen should Jordan
retire. The Pippen story is an interesting one. He has felt underpaid and at
times underappreciated during his years in Chicago. He has said he will
never wear a Chicago uniform again, cannot stand Krause, and seemed a lock
to go elsewhere until the money limits were installed as part of the new
Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Would the Bulls make up for Pippen's years of lost wages and reward him with
what he wants, a five-year deal starting at $14 million? Don't count on it.
Pippen is 33 and coming off back surgery, and Chicago may feel that if it
can't win without Jordan, why spend the money on Pippen?
No top-name free agent is likely to sign with the Bulls without knowing that
Pippen is there. McDyess, for instance, is being wooed heavily by Houston,
which also has only four players under contract. But one of those is Hakeem
Olajuwon.
Jordan was the top priority, and now the Bulls know about him. Pippen should
be the next stop, except that Chicago would lose its cap room if it
re-signed him right away. But if he did, Krause could then try to re-sign
Longley, Kerr, and others from the title team and let it roll.
But if Pippen goes elsewhere, or is signed by Chicago and traded for bodies,
then the Bulls go into the tank this season. Krause will try to load up the
roster with serviceable players in the final years of their contracts or
promising rookies. He will then focus on the 1999 draft and try to rebuild
through free agency. Depending on how the roster is built, the Bulls could
have $15 million-$20 million available, enough for two impact players to go
along with what should be a good draft pick.
Rodman is a goner without Jordan. What's the point? Rodman, when he decided
to play, was valuable as the third wheel. He'll be no more than a freak show
without Jordan and Pippen, and frankly, it's hard to see him toeing the line
for Tim Floyd. Even the enormously patient Phil Jackson struggled with
Rodman.
Longley and Kerr will have suitors and could find new homes. Teams need
centers, and Longley is one, if not a great one. The Celtics, for instance,
could offer their $1.7 million average exception, but that likely isn't
enough. And Longley might not want to close out his career playing Pitino
Ball. (Remember, though, Longley was part of a trade, along with Pippen,
that Pitino decided not to pursue in June 1997.) Phoenix might take a pass
at Longley, and it has money to spend. Detroit is said to be eyeing Kerr for
the same role he had in Chicago, only this time to benefit Grant Hill.
No one is shedding any tears for Krause. The Bulls of the '90s are a lot
like the Celtics of the '80s; there's no shortage of teams eager for payback
when Chicago stops by. That's the price of building a consistent winner, and
Krause can only hope that he now also has built a tradition in Chicago,
although that may be hard without Jordan in this day and age.
Krause, of course, is the man who said organizations, not players, win
championships. His organization is about to be put to the test, and many
feel Krause has been salivating for the opportunity to show that it can be
done without No. 23. He drafted Pippen, Horace Grant, and Kukoc, signed key
free agents, and made big deals (Bill Cartwright for Charles Oakley) to get
Chicago rolling. But he always had Jordan. He doesn't have that luxury
anymore.
This story ran on page D05 of the Boston Globe on 01/13/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.