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by: Chris Maynard
([email protected])
([email protected])
The 1996 NBA Finals featured the oldest team in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls, and one of the young powerhouses in the association, the Seattle SuperSonics.
While only playing twice a year due to their conference affiliations, both franchises had some important history, specifically around Chicago's superstar small forward Scottie Pippen.
On Monday, June 22, 1987, NBA Commissioner David Stern stepped to the podium to announce the fifth selection of the first round of the league's annual draft, held by the team in Seattle.
While only playing twice a year due to their conference affiliations, both franchises had some important history, specifically around Chicago's superstar small forward Scottie Pippen.
On Monday, June 22, 1987, NBA Commissioner David Stern stepped to the podium to announce the fifth selection of the first round of the league's annual draft, held by the team in Seattle.
Three picks later, Stern walked up to the podium to announce the eighth selection of the draft, with the Chicago Bulls taking Virginia center Olden Polynice.
Of course, Polynice would never play for the Bulls, with General Manager Jerry Krause having already arranged a deal with the Sonics to swap the center's rights for the rights to the aforementioned Scott Pippen, an unknown player out of tiny Central Arkansas whom Krause had fallen in love with.
Two picks later, Chicago selected Clemson power forward Howard Grant, solidifying its starting forward spots for the organization's first three titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Fast forward to the 1996 NBA Finals, during which Pippen was hoping to bring Chicago a fourth title while Seattle, behind the young duo of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, was looking to win its first NBA championship since the 1979 NBA Finals. As for Polynice, he was on his fourth NBA team, having played for the Sonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons and then the Sacramento Kings, which were eliminated by Seattle in the first round of the 1996 NBA Playoffs.
Of course, the 1996 NBA Finals pitting the Bulls and Sonics would have looked much different, or likely not even happened, had a trade between the teams taken place two years before.
Make the jump to read about how Seattle nearly corrected its mistake of trading Pippen for Polynice during the 1987 NBA Draft approximately seven years later before backing out due to fear of fan backlash.
Of course, Polynice would never play for the Bulls, with General Manager Jerry Krause having already arranged a deal with the Sonics to swap the center's rights for the rights to the aforementioned Scott Pippen, an unknown player out of tiny Central Arkansas whom Krause had fallen in love with.
Two picks later, Chicago selected Clemson power forward Howard Grant, solidifying its starting forward spots for the organization's first three titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Fast forward to the 1996 NBA Finals, during which Pippen was hoping to bring Chicago a fourth title while Seattle, behind the young duo of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, was looking to win its first NBA championship since the 1979 NBA Finals. As for Polynice, he was on his fourth NBA team, having played for the Sonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons and then the Sacramento Kings, which were eliminated by Seattle in the first round of the 1996 NBA Playoffs.
Of course, the 1996 NBA Finals pitting the Bulls and Sonics would have looked much different, or likely not even happened, had a trade between the teams taken place two years before.
Make the jump to read about how Seattle nearly corrected its mistake of trading Pippen for Polynice during the 1987 NBA Draft approximately seven years later before backing out due to fear of fan backlash.
During the 1994 NBA Draft, rumors began to swirl that Chicago was sending Pippen to Seattle for the superstar power forward Kemp. I remember the night quite well. My Dad was helping my grandfather and his girlfriend move out of their home into a condo, what is now called downsizing. My brother and I had tagged along to help move some stuff, listening to the draft on the radio.
When news broke that a swap for Pippen and Kemp was imminent, my brother and I began yelling out in excitement. We couldn't believe that the Reign Man Kemp, one of the best dunkers in the game, would possibly be a Bull.
"That would be a horrible trade guys!" my Dad said before laughing out loud.
Despite helping the Bulls win three titles, serving as Robin to Batman Michael Jordan, Pippen had fallen out of favor in Chicago. While winning the MVP of the 1994 NBA All Star Game and helping the Bulls earn a three-seed during the team's first season without the retired Jordan, Pippen had left a bad taste in the mouths of Chicago fans after his antics in the prior playoffs.
With the Bulls down 2-0 during Game Three of the second round series against the New York Knicks, Pippen refused to enter a tied game with 1.8 seconds left after Head Coach Phil Jackson drew up a last-second shot for rookie Toni Kukoc. To the disbelief of veteran center Bill Cartwright, Pippen stayed on the bench as Kukoc caught the inbound pass, turned and fired a game-winning three at the buzzer to cut New York's series lead to 2 games to 1.
While Chicago would ultimately force a seventh game before losing to the Knicks, Krause apparently had enough of Pippen as a result of his behavior during Game Three.
Like my Dad, Chicago Assistant Coach Johnny Bach vehemently disagreed with the idea of trading Pippen.
According to legend, as Krause discussed the idea of trading Pippen with the coaching staff after Chicago's elimination from the 1994 NBA Playoffs, Bach said that the Bulls would be absolutely crazy to trade someone of Pippen's abilities. Of course, Bach's contract would not be picked up by the Bulls shortly after, with Krause apparently not happy with the dissent.
While Chicago seemed ready to move on from Pippen, Seattle suddenly got cold feet about moving the popular Kemp, who was especially cool to younger fans based upon his high-flying athleticism. When news of the proposed trade was circulated in Seattle, Sonics fans apparently voiced their displeasure quite loudly, causing the organization to back out of the trade due to the backlash.
Fortunately for Chicago, Seattle's reluctance to acquire Pippen changed the course of NBA history, though the Bulls' superstar small forward would not happy entering the 1994-95 season.
As Chicago continued to weaken as a championship contender, with Grant signing as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, Pippen played a good portion of that season quite angry at Krause for the lack of loyalty. As one example, Pippen famously got ejected during a home game against the San Antonio Spurs that season, throwing a chair out onto the court.
It seemed that Pippen's time in a Bulls' uniform was coming to an end, though a big return would change that. On March 19, 1995, Jordan came out of retirement to rejoin the Bulls, somewhat quelling Pippen's unhappiness.
Of course, the bitter relationship between Pippen and Chicago's management would remain quite sour during his last three seasons with the Bulls. Chicago would try to trade Pippen after the 1997 NBA Finals, and Pippen would delay surgery that offseason in spite of Krause, not playing until January of 1998. While recovering from his surgery, Pippen would even demand a trade that last season in Chicago, feeling underappreciated and underpaid by an organization that would not renegotiate his outdated contracted signed back in 1991.
Jordan had repeatedly said that he would not have come back to the Bulls if Chicago traded Pippen for Kemp. Apparently, Jordan nixed any idea of trading Pippen after the 1997 NBA Finals.
Still, what if Chicago had traded Pippen for Kemp during the 1994 NBA Draft?
Would Jordan have returned to the Bulls?
My guess is that he would have, as his love of the game was too great and Krause would never trade Jordan's rights to another team.
How would Jordan and Kemp have fared together?
Adding Kemp would have definitely meant no Dennis Rodman two years later.
Who would have replaced Pippen?
My guess is Chicago would have gone with Toni Kukoc and seen what happened.
As for Seattle, how would have Pippen coexisted with Gary Payton?
Would those two have been good enough to get the Sonics out of the West?
What would have the Sonics looked like down low without Kemp?
All in all, NBA history certainly would have been much different if the 1994 trade for Pippen and Kemp had gone through.
Thank goodness it didn't, despite what 12-year-old me thought at the time.
While Kemp was a bright young star who ultimately burned out, Pippen was one of the greatest players of all time.
As Jordan has said many times, without Scottie Pippen, he would not have won six NBA championships.
When news broke that a swap for Pippen and Kemp was imminent, my brother and I began yelling out in excitement. We couldn't believe that the Reign Man Kemp, one of the best dunkers in the game, would possibly be a Bull.
"That would be a horrible trade guys!" my Dad said before laughing out loud.
Despite helping the Bulls win three titles, serving as Robin to Batman Michael Jordan, Pippen had fallen out of favor in Chicago. While winning the MVP of the 1994 NBA All Star Game and helping the Bulls earn a three-seed during the team's first season without the retired Jordan, Pippen had left a bad taste in the mouths of Chicago fans after his antics in the prior playoffs.
With the Bulls down 2-0 during Game Three of the second round series against the New York Knicks, Pippen refused to enter a tied game with 1.8 seconds left after Head Coach Phil Jackson drew up a last-second shot for rookie Toni Kukoc. To the disbelief of veteran center Bill Cartwright, Pippen stayed on the bench as Kukoc caught the inbound pass, turned and fired a game-winning three at the buzzer to cut New York's series lead to 2 games to 1.
While Chicago would ultimately force a seventh game before losing to the Knicks, Krause apparently had enough of Pippen as a result of his behavior during Game Three.
Like my Dad, Chicago Assistant Coach Johnny Bach vehemently disagreed with the idea of trading Pippen.
According to legend, as Krause discussed the idea of trading Pippen with the coaching staff after Chicago's elimination from the 1994 NBA Playoffs, Bach said that the Bulls would be absolutely crazy to trade someone of Pippen's abilities. Of course, Bach's contract would not be picked up by the Bulls shortly after, with Krause apparently not happy with the dissent.
While Chicago seemed ready to move on from Pippen, Seattle suddenly got cold feet about moving the popular Kemp, who was especially cool to younger fans based upon his high-flying athleticism. When news of the proposed trade was circulated in Seattle, Sonics fans apparently voiced their displeasure quite loudly, causing the organization to back out of the trade due to the backlash.
Fortunately for Chicago, Seattle's reluctance to acquire Pippen changed the course of NBA history, though the Bulls' superstar small forward would not happy entering the 1994-95 season.
As Chicago continued to weaken as a championship contender, with Grant signing as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, Pippen played a good portion of that season quite angry at Krause for the lack of loyalty. As one example, Pippen famously got ejected during a home game against the San Antonio Spurs that season, throwing a chair out onto the court.
It seemed that Pippen's time in a Bulls' uniform was coming to an end, though a big return would change that. On March 19, 1995, Jordan came out of retirement to rejoin the Bulls, somewhat quelling Pippen's unhappiness.
Of course, the bitter relationship between Pippen and Chicago's management would remain quite sour during his last three seasons with the Bulls. Chicago would try to trade Pippen after the 1997 NBA Finals, and Pippen would delay surgery that offseason in spite of Krause, not playing until January of 1998. While recovering from his surgery, Pippen would even demand a trade that last season in Chicago, feeling underappreciated and underpaid by an organization that would not renegotiate his outdated contracted signed back in 1991.
Jordan had repeatedly said that he would not have come back to the Bulls if Chicago traded Pippen for Kemp. Apparently, Jordan nixed any idea of trading Pippen after the 1997 NBA Finals.
Still, what if Chicago had traded Pippen for Kemp during the 1994 NBA Draft?
Would Jordan have returned to the Bulls?
My guess is that he would have, as his love of the game was too great and Krause would never trade Jordan's rights to another team.
How would Jordan and Kemp have fared together?
Adding Kemp would have definitely meant no Dennis Rodman two years later.
Who would have replaced Pippen?
My guess is Chicago would have gone with Toni Kukoc and seen what happened.
As for Seattle, how would have Pippen coexisted with Gary Payton?
Would those two have been good enough to get the Sonics out of the West?
What would have the Sonics looked like down low without Kemp?
All in all, NBA history certainly would have been much different if the 1994 trade for Pippen and Kemp had gone through.
Thank goodness it didn't, despite what 12-year-old me thought at the time.
While Kemp was a bright young star who ultimately burned out, Pippen was one of the greatest players of all time.
As Jordan has said many times, without Scottie Pippen, he would not have won six NBA championships.
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