Pippen

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I don't think that Sprewell and Pippen should ever be compared, 
except that they both have talent. There is a big difference 
between a coach-choking, lawsuit-filing Sprewell and a "whining" 
Pippen. Really, if we don't want whiners on our team, we should 
probably trade Pierce and Walker, both of who have whined to the 
media at various times.

I listened to an interview with Charles Barkley on MSNBC.com. 
He says that Pippen has established the "breakfast club" at Houston,
where Pippen, Barkley, and Olajuwon meet every morning to lift 
weights and motivate each other. This is based on the same idea
that Jordan and Pippen had in Chicago. As a result, Barkley is in
the best shape (weights-wise) of his life and Olajuwon is again
playing at a high level. 

Barkley also mentions that Pippen goes above and beyond in working
with the young players on the Rockets every day. 

We could really use an experienced veteran who could do the same
with our young players: lead by example and teach with the credibility
of a winner. Pitino said in his interview that he was in some ways too 
close to Walker and therefore Walker didn't always listen to him, in the 
way that kids don't always listen to their parents. He needs veterans
who Antoine will look up to (or at least consider peers) to convince 
Antoine to do things like get in great shape and play smarter. Given what
Pippen has done in Houston, I wouldn't be surprised if he could have
played that role for Antoine. Pippen may not be respected by some 
Celtics fans but he is definitely respected throughout the league, 
by many players including Jordan. 

Alex