NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 59 The Last Dance (1)

In seven years, he won five NBA championships and was elected NBA Finals MVP five times. Jordan's reputation reached its peak.He is not only the best basketball player in the world, but also considered by a considerable number of people in the circle to be the greatest basketball player of all time.Some media even raised questions beyond the scope of basketball: Is Jordan the greatest team sports player of all time?In this discussion, Jordan has been compared to baseball legend Babe Ruth.

One thing is for sure: Jordan was the most charismatic and compelling star in all of sports in the 20s, and everyone wanted to see him play, especially the big games.During the playoffs, Jordan can always bring a large number of basketball viewers to the NBA. The millions of new people are more of Jordan's personal fans than professional basketball fans.

After Jordan stepped onto the stage of the finals, the ratings of the NBA Finals rose steadily. In 1993, when the Bulls faced the Suns in the Finals, the ratings reached an unheard of 17.9, which means that about 2 million Americans were watching an NBA game at the same time.So many people, how many are directly related to Jordan?A year later, the NBA and the NBC television network found the answer in a painful way: In 7, Jordan retired to play baseball, the Bulls did not make it to the finals, and the ratings of the rest of the playoffs remained basically constant, but the overall The ratings for the finale dropped to 2, equivalent to 0 million Americans.In other words, about one-third of the American audience watched the NBA Finals purely for Jordan, and they would not watch it without Jordan.When Jordan returned to the basketball court and brought the Bulls to the Finals for two consecutive years, the ratings of the NBA Finals rose sharply, reaching 1994 in 12.4 and 1780 in 1996, equivalent to 16.7 million Americans watching the finals live.

In the 80s, Magic and Bird joined forces to increase the popularity of the NBA in the United States. In the 90s, Jordan single-handedly promoted the expansion of the NBA to the world.By 1997, Jordan had become the most famous American, and his global popularity even surpassed that of the President of the United States, surpassing any movie star or rock star.When American journalists or diplomats go to the poorest places in Asia and Africa, they are often surprised: Even in some small villages, they can see children wearing fake Jordan jerseys.

Jordan is famous, Jordan is rich, he is a big company himself. In the 1996-1997 season, Jordan's annual salary plus commercial endorsement income totaled about 7800 million U.S. dollars, and in the upcoming 1997-1998 season, the amount may be even greater.Now, when it comes to the boss of the team he plays for, the senior executives of the sneaker company, the senior executives of the Hamburg company, and the senior executives of the beverage company, Jordan always refers to him as "my partner" and "my partner".

Since his comeback in 1995, Jordan has won the championship twice. Over the past two years, the NBA has changed a lot by him, and he has matured a lot.A prominent manifestation of maturity is the change in attitude towards Pippen.In the early days, Jordan always had reservations about Pippen, and he even denied it in private. In the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, Pippen suffered a migraine on the day of Game 1997, and Jordan was extremely angry with him.Later, although the two won three consecutive championships together, in general, Jordan was not close to Pippen.Teammates believe that Jordan's dissatisfaction is mainly due to Pippen's unstable performance. Sometimes Pippen even hit a triple-double one day, and the next day it seems to have evaporated. Jordan is obviously worried about such teammates.Jordan didn't fully recognize Pippen until he retired and came back. Of course, this is also because Pippen himself is much more mature than before.A few weeks before his comeback, Jordan insisted on declaring to the outside world: "Scotty is the best player on this team." After winning the fifth championship in [-], Jordan was very grateful for Pippen's existence and always said that Pippen was there Like his own brother.

Why is there such a change?Former teammate BJ Armstrong believes that the difference is that when Jordan was young, there was nothing on the court that he couldn't do alone.Any time he wants, he can get 50 points.He can get the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt by himself, control the pace of the game, dribble to where he likes, and shoot every ball he wants to shoot.Although to win the championship, he needs good teammates, but if he is just being Michael Jordan, he doesn't need anyone around him.But now, Jordan is old, and his physical fitness is not as good as before. He can no longer do everything by himself. He must allocate his physical energy reasonably, and someone needs to create a comfortable game environment for him.At this time, he realized that to be Michael Jordan, he needed Scottie Pippen by his side.He needed Pippen to get the ball up the court, he needed Pippen to control the pace of the game, he needed Pippen to get the ball where he wanted it, and he needed Pippen to apply pressure on both ends of the floor.

Armstrong said that after the cooperation in 1995, Jordan and Pippen knew each other very well. When they were on the court at the same time, they always knew what the other wanted and what they should do, just like a pair of twins.

Larry Bird has coached the Indiana Pacers since the 1997-1998 season. He also mentioned the relationship between Jordan and Pippen in a later autobiography.Bird wrote: "I believe Michael Jordan had the second best player in the league, Scottie Pippen. You take Michael off that team and Scottie goes down to fifth. , but as long as Michael plays with him, they are the two best players in the league." Bird's words are a perfect comment on the word "combination".Two people playing together, making each other better, being two of the best players in the world together, is one of the most beautiful things about basketball.

In his autobiography, Jordan also commented on Pippen and his relationship with Pippen as follows:
Only a few guys know how to be predators on defense, and Scotty has been committed to it from day one, which tells me he's special.Very few people come to the NBA with the thought—"I'm willing to do all the thankless work necessary to make this team win." People generally think about scoring and playing enough minutes to improve their game. data.

In my opinion, throughout my career, there have been very, very few people who I would consider "great."I would say "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird achieved "greatness" to a certain extent.I followed their example and went one step further, making a difference on both ends of the floor.One player I think is close to them is Scottie Pippen.He's an intelligent player, he understands the game.He had to learn how to be a warrior, how to be aggressive from start to finish, and Scottie did that.I've seen every aspect of his game, and it's not just what he can do offensively but what he can do defensively.He can compare to those guys in everything except being a leader.Scottie has the qualities of a leader, but I don't know if he wants to play that role.Scottie comes from a small place, and it's like a kid who grew up in the country and has to play against kids who grew up in the city.Country kids can learn, but it may take longer.Bird and Magic came into the league ready to teach others in some ways; Scottie came into the league just ready to teach others.Believe me, I don't think he's far behind those guys.

A lot of times on the court, I felt like I was playing with my twin brother.This shows how much he has grown in the days when we fought side by side.I still think I can tear him down on offense, I have some of the nuances of the game and I can go to a higher level, but it's going to be a high-level matchup at the end of the day.He learned how to be a carnivore, which means attacking all the time and still scaring people.You must never relax and allow yourself to be attacked.The difference between me and him is this: Scottie is the kind of guy who would attack if he knew a pack of wolves was after him, whereas I would attack even if there were no wolves in pursuit.That's a big difference.

Jordan's recognition and support of Pippen further deteriorated the relationship between him and Krause.Jordan believes that when Krause negotiated the contract, he was too stingy and harsh on the Bulls' champion. In 1997, although the Bulls had a great reputation under the spotlight, under this harmonious and beautiful appearance, where ordinary people could not see, there were actually dangers and undercurrents surging.

After winning the fifth championship, the three one-year short contracts of Jordan, Phil Jackson, and Rodman expired. Whether the Bulls can all return next season has become a big question.On the night of winning the championship, Jordan said in front of the media: "I don't want to put pressure on Jerry Reinsdorf, even though it sounds like this. But I want to see us defend what we have achieved five times in the past seven years. A championship team. I think we have a right to defend what we've achieved, and Phil should be that coach."

At one point there were signs that Leinsdorf would not hire Phil again because he was asking too much.Jackson had just fulfilled a one-year contract of $270 million, which was the highest annual salary among all the head coaches who were not concurrently serving as general manager at the time.The rest of the good coaches in the league are happy making $100 million to $200 million a year, and everyone is vying to coach Jordan and Pippen.The question of the Bulls management is: Why spend so much money on coaches?Why not another person to lead this team?Now that there are Jordan and Pippen, Jackson's position is replaceable.

However, there was one reason that greatly affected Jackson's offer.Jordan publicly declared: I only play for Phil Jackson, and if Phil leaves, I will not return to the Bulls.This is a huge threat, and even creates social pressure. Jordan is letting everyone know: to bring the entire team back intact, and to win another championship, Jackson must first be invited back.

During the 1997 Finals, Reinsdorf had lunch with Jackson in Utah. During the meeting, Reinsdorf proposed to Jackson: If the next negotiations are deadlocked, the Bulls are willing to pay him a considerable income, about One $200 million, please leave him quietly.This is the first signal sent by the Bulls management: they are ready for the summer negotiations.

After winning the championship, the topic of Jackson's contract renewal negotiations occupied a prominent position in the Chicago media, attracting more attention than the local municipal budget.On this issue, Jackson is not only a coach, but also a key domino, a domino that affects whether Jordan will stay or not.

Before the end of the 1996-1997 season, Jordan joked with reporters that if he made the decision, he would give himself an annual salary of 5000 million U.S. dollars, 5000 million for Jackson, and 7500 million for Pippen.Then, realizing he'd forgotten about Rodman, he added: "Dennis got 2500 million. He's probably worth more, but my budget is really tight."

Winning a fifth title did little to ease the tension within the Bulls.If the management wants Jordan to come back, it has to meet Jordan's conditions: the team remains intact in essence.This means that before renewing Jordan's contract, the Bulls' management has to solve several other dominoes, including Pippen.

Pippen's situation is different from that of Jordan, Jackson, and Rodman. His contract has not yet expired and he has the last year left. In the summer of 1997, Pippen was the most valuable trading chip in the league. The Bulls could have used him to make a good deal, but if they did that, Jordan and Jackson would never come back. The entire team fell apart. Husband and Klaus will suffer a great deal of blame.However, wait another year, Jordan and Jackson will probably still leave, and Pippen will become a free agent again. Considering Pippen's long-term dissatisfaction with the Bulls management, he will definitely join the free agent market. At that time, the Bulls may have everything. less than.Therefore, regarding Pippen, the Bulls are facing a dilemma: either focus on short-term interests, keep him, continue to hit the sixth championship, and please the fans; A young player with potential, he gave up his championship hopes in 1998 and began to rebuild.

Pippen has a long history of feud with the Bulls management.He was one of the best players in the NBA at the time, but he only earned $300 million a year, ranking 122nd in the league.Speaking of it, this is what Pippen asked for-in 1991, he had just suffered a serious back injury. To be on the safe side, he asked Klaus for this seven-year long contract. Klaus advised him not to sign such a contract. Long, but Pippen wouldn't listen.In that era, if the player's value increased, he could renegotiate the contract. However, when Pippen asked to renegotiate the contract in 1994, Krause sternly refused, and Pippen's contract was locked.In many situations similar to Pippen, the boss will properly hint to those good players: the team respects your contribution, and when your contract expires, we will compensate you in the next contract so that you can earn what you deserve. earned money.However, the Bulls management never gave Pippen such a hint.In contrast, Krause and Leinsdorf seemed particularly reluctant to give Pippen full recognition in public, and their interest in Pippen's future was rather limited. They believed that Pippen's body had begun to age.This made Pippen's agent feel that the day Pippen got a lot of money, he could only be on another team.

In 1994, Pippen was almost traded for Sean Kemp of the Sonics.Now, in 1997, the Bulls nearly traded Pippen and Longley on draft day for the right to Keith Van Horn.Van Horn, a 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) white man with an excellent shooting ability, was regarded as "the next Larry Bird" and was wanted by many NBA general managers, including Krause.But in the end, Van Horn fell into the hands of the New Jersey Nets.

According to Leinsdorf, he decided not to trade Pippen and go all out for the sixth championship.Reinsdorf remembers asking Krause: How good are the young players we might get?Can it become an important pawn to win the championship in the future?Klaus can't guarantee it.So Leinsdorf decided that he wanted a sixth title.

Reinsdorf wasn't too concerned about Pippen's feelings.Trading is part of the NBA, and even great players are traded sometimes.Jordan will not be traded because he is the Babe Ruth of basketball and Pippen is not.Reinsdorf has been forthright, and he has no fear that Pippen's management team knows what he's doing.The Bulls finally kept Pippen, not because he felt that Pippen was indispensable, but because Jordan and Jackson wanted Pippen to come back, and the fans also wanted Pippen to come back.

Pippen was not sent away on draft day, and the Bulls' long and arduous contract extension process officially began.

Jordan's allegiance gave Jackson leverage in the negotiations.One ex-Bulls coach said enviously: "Field is so lucky. He has a great agent—Todd Musburger is a very good agent. He also has sports. Best agent of all time, Michael Jordan. It's hard to beat that combination."

Even so, negotiations have been painful.Leinsdorf hated communicating with the coach through an agent. After Jackson and the Bulls parted ways, Leinsdorf vowed that he would never hire a coach with an agent again, because he felt that the coach itself was part of the management. There should be a broker.

(End of this chapter)