The catalyst for Scottie Pippen joining the Chicago Bulls believes he would have had similar success.
Michael Jordan was an incredible player in his first few years with the Chicago Bulls. He proved very quickly that he was a generational talent.
But for all his efforts, it became clear that he couldn’t do it alone. It was the emergence of Scottie Pippen as a superstar that helped the Bulls become champions.
Pippen established himself as a star player and the second option on a strong Chicago Bulls roster. His incredible two-way play made the Bulls a dynasty.
But the Bulls weren’t the team to draft him with their pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. And the man whom the Bulls sent to the Super Sonics in exchange has finally spoken up.
8 Nov 2000: Olden Polynice #0 of the Utah Jazz takes a break during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Jazz defeated the Clippers 93-87. NOTE TO USER: It is expressly understood that the only rights Allsport are offering to license in…
Olden Polynice claims he would have won rings with Chicago Bulls
In an interview with Byron Scott’s Fast Break about his career, Olden Polynice revealed that the Chicago Bulls had agreed to a trade with the Seattle Super Sonics before the draft.
The Super Sonics had the fifth pick and chose Scottie Pippen, who was sent to the Bulls.
He took the chance to take a dig at Pippen’s struggles in the 1998 NBA Playoffs. But the deal was already done, and the teams were adhering to the rules of the NBA at the time.
“I’d have a couple. I’d definitely have a couple. I didn’t get migraines when I played… unlike somebody!
“You know what’s crazy about that, when that happened, they had already made the trade.”
“Prior to the draft. The NBA had these crazy rules when they couldn’t announce trades until the draft starts. So the trade was already made, Chicago had the fifth pick, and Seattle had the eighth pick. Officially, we were traded for each other, but it was already done.”
Scottie Pippen was the right choice
Olden Polynice established himself as a reliable, yet limited, role player in his stints with the Sonics, Clippers, Pistons, Kings, and Jazz.
He only averaged double-digit points in 5 of his 17 seasons. And while Polynice was a reliable player, he never made a massive impact on any NBA team that came even close to that of Scottie Pippen.
On the other hand, Scottie Pippen turned out to be an All-NBA talent who changed the course of their franchise. It’s hard to argue that the Chicago Bulls made the wrong call passing up Pippen.
Many believe that without Pippen, Michael Jordan wouldn’t have had the success he did. Perhaps no one is more vocal about that narrative than Scottie Pippen himself.
Pippen recently diminished Michael Jordan’s importance in his career, something Stephen A. Smith accused him of being bitter about.
Pippen’s issues with Jordan stemmed from the ‘Last Dance’ documentary. It’s a shame to see their relationship deteriorate over the last few years.
No matter how much their relationship has suffered over the last few years, no one will ever deny how brilliant the pair were together.