Scottie Pippen was undoubtedly one of the greatest players to don the Chicago Bulls jersey, but the journey to playing alongside Michael Jordan or to even announcing himself on the big stage was an arduous one.
Without Pippen, the Bulls wouldn’t probably have the six championship banners up in the rafters.
While The Last Dance showcased enough of the forward’s life and times before and with the franchise, his memoir, Unguarded, paints a detailed picture of his journey up the college ranks to the NBA, and how his exploits garnered Bulls GM Jerry Krause’s attention, even when the other managers declined to come to watch him play.
In his book, the 57-year-old revealed how he had plans of leaving Central Arkansas, considering the scanty media coverage, which at that point was focused on the NCAA over the NAIA. When one of the assistant coaches, Arch Jones, found out about Pippen’s plans, he convinced the young player to stay back promising him that he would get the right exposure.
Jones lived up to that promise when he got Marty Blake, the then director of NBA’s scouting, to check Pippen out. Blake came in with the reputation of digging out some of the precocious talents in the country, and one of his discoveries was Dennis Rodman, who would eventually suit up with Pippen for the Bulls.
It all happened on December 13, 1986, at Hattiesburg. Pippen’s team squared off against the Golden Eagles, and while his team lost 95-82, he impressed with 24 points. More importantly, he made an impact on Blake, who was surprised at his versatility in playing all five positions.
While Blake went about telling teams about a future star who had seen with his own eyes, not all were keen to check out the prospect. As Pippen put in his memoir:
“Blake spread the word to teams around the league: You should come to see this kid. He’s got a real future. No thanks, every general manager decided. Every general manager except the Bulls’ Jerry Krause.”
Soon after, Krause sent Billy McKinney, the team’s lone scout, to check Pippen’s game. He came in late 1987 to Arkansas to see the Bears play Henderson State. Pippen was oblivious of McKinney coming in but still had a good game finishing with 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 steals. He also felt that it was good that he had not known of the scout’s arrival.
“I didn’t know he was going to be there, and that was probably a good thing. If I had known, I might have pressed and not played my normal game.”
However, what was heartening was the story of how fate played a role in Pippen getting noticed by Blake.
“How Coach J got Blake to show up in Conway was an example of how good fortune — and tragedy, I suppose — can play a huge role in one’s destiny.”
He revealed that Coach J and Blake met when the latter attended the funeral of a promising NBA prospect, J.P. Lovelady, who was Jones’s teammate at Arkansas. The relationship between the two came good and spelled pleasing news for Pippen who had a shot at showing what he had in the tank.
Scottie Pippen Was Eventually Traded To The Chicago Bulls After The Team Manufactured A Trade With Seattle Supersonics
In the 1987 NBA Draft, the folks at the Windy City manufactured a trade with Seattle that sent Pippen, selected fifth overall to Chicago, in exchange for the eighth pick Olden Polynice along with future draft pick options.
He, along with power forward Horace Grant, was looked at as backups and future options for Brad Sellers and Charles Oakley, respectively.
Pippen played for eleven seasons with the Bulls and was the second all-time leader in points, assists, and steals. During his time with the Bulls, he averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists.
He was eventually sent to the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-deal for Roy Rogers and a 2nd round pick in the 2000 NBA draft. The numbers saw a bit of a decline during his time with the Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers. But it doesn’t change the fact that the Hall of Famer was one of the best players the league has witnessed.
