Scottie Pippen Was Almost Traded To Celtics After Bulls Won Fifth Title In 1997: ‘The Deal Was Basically Done’

Scottie Pippen was almost traded to the Boston Celtics after the Chicago Bulls won their fifth NBA title in 1997. 

Pippen, one of the greatest players in NBA history, wrote about it in his book. 

“In late June, after we defeated the Jazz, the Bulls looked once more into trading — surprise, surprise — yours truly,” Pippen wrote. “The offer on the table was me and Luc Longley to the Celtics for the No. 3 and No. 6 selections in the upcoming draft, along with a first-round pick in 1999. The thinking from Jerry Krause went something like this: Pippen will be a free agent after the coming season. Since we aren’t willing to pay him what he will demand (and likely be offered in the open market), we might as well part ways with him now while we can still get something in return to help us rebuild for the future. 

“Other teams waited too long to unload their aging stars and the rebuilding took forever. The deal was basically done. Until the other Jerry decided against it. Jerry Reinsdorf believed the Bulls stood a better chance of winning one more championship with me than without me, and he couldn’t be certain whether Michael Jordan, who had yet to sign a new contract, would come back for another season if I was gone. If keeping me meant the rebuild would be delayed and probably take longer, so be it.”

Pippen postponed his foot surgery on purpose until October 1997 as his way of thumbing his nose at Bulls general manager Jerry Krause for not extending his contract and looking to trade him. 

In November 1997, Pippen publicly demanded a trade from the Bulls, stating he wouldn’t come off the injured list until the team traded him.

The Bulls didn’t trade Pippen in 1997-98. Pippen admitted he knew that would happen in Episode 2 of “The Last Dance” docuseries. The swingman made his 1997-98 debut on January 10, 1998, against the Golden State Warriors at the United Center. 

With Jordan, Pippen and Dennis Rodman back on the court together, the Bulls were once again primed to win a championship despite all the turmoil behind the scenes.

The Bulls won 62 games in 1997-98 and beat the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals to capture their sixth title. Jordan won his sixth Finals MVP by averaging 33.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks in the six-game series.

The Bulls traded Pippen to the Houston Rockets in 1998 after Jordan retired. As part of the sign-and-trade deal, Pippen signed a five-year, $67.2 million contract, finally receiving the money he earned.

Chicago defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals, the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals and the Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. 

A Hall of Famer, Pippen had two stints with the Bulls. He averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks.

Pippen made seven All-Star teams, 10 All-Defensive teams and seven All-NBA teams as a member of the Bulls. He’s one of the top two-way players in basketball history.