In 1994, Bulls Had Trade In Place To Send Scottie Pippen To Sonics For Shawn Kemp, But Minds Changed At Last Minute

The Seattle SuperSonics almost acquired NBA legend Scottie Pippen from the Chicago Bulls in the summer of 1994.

However, the SuperSonics backed out at the last minute after angry fans flooded them with calls.

According to legendary NBA writer Sam Smith, the Bulls tried to trade Pippen after the 1993-94 season to the SuperSonics for Shawn Kemp. 

“The Bulls would try to trade Pippen after the 1993-94 season to the Seattle SuperSonics for Shawn Kemp,” Smith wrote in 2009. “But Seattle backed out at the last minute when word got out and angry fans, influenced by the famous 1.8-second walkout, flooded the team with calls because they didn’t want Pippen with all his baggage and attitude issues.”

SuperSonics fans had no interest in cheering for Pippen despite recognizing how talented he was. The Bulls should thank those fans for impacting Seattle’s decision in regards to a Pippen trade, as once Michael Jordan returned to the NBA after playing baseball, he and Pippen wreaked havoc on the league again.

Pippen had a stellar 1993-94 season for the Bulls while Jordan played baseball. He was the No. 1 option on offense and put up spectacular numbers.

Pippen averaged 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals in 1993-94 while shooting 49.1% from the field, 32.0% from beyond the arc and 66.0% from the free-throw line.

The Bulls won 55 games in 1993-94 and Pippen finished third in MVP voting. Phil Jackson‘s squad swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 1994 playoffs but ran into trouble in the second round against the New York Knicks.

Chicago lost the first two games of the New York series and was in jeopardy of going down 3-0 after the Knicks tied Game 3 at 102 with 1.8 seconds left in regulation. Pippen thought Jackson would draw up the game-winning play for him, but Jackson called Toni Kukoc’s number instead.

Pippen refused to go back into the game after he saw Jackson call the play for Kukoc, who wound up hitting a two-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulls the win.

Even though Pippen apologized to his Bulls teammates, his reputation around the NBA took a big hit. As a result, several NBA fans — most notably SuperSonics supporters — wanted nothing to do with the 1993-94 All-Star Game MVP.

Jordan and Pippen led the Bulls to 72 wins during the 1995-96 season. Chicago faced the SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals and won the series in six games.

Jordan won Finals MVP, but Pippen showed Seattle fans they made a mistake by not allowing the SuperSonics’ front office to trade for him. He put up 15.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and played exceptional defense.

Kemp played one more season with the SuperSonics after the ’96 Finals loss to the Bulls. Seattle traded him to the Cavaliers in 1997.

Meanwhile, Pippen won two more titles in Chicago alongside Jordan to reach six rings for his career.

Pippen certainly came with a lot of baggage. However, the SuperSonics will forever regret not trading for him in 1994 just because a select number of fans didn’t want him on the team.