I'll take this a bit further, IF you could magically transport either team through time, I think the 99 Spurs would have had a decent chance against the 98 Bulls
Of course Steve Kerr guarding himself might have messed with the time space continuum
Especially not since that contract would have only been for $11 million. Pippen was only making $2.8 million in 97-98 so he couldn't have had a huge contract grandfathered in under the new CBA that year like Jordan would have been able to (Jordan would have been eligible for $34.8 million as a 5% raise on his 97-98 salary). Especially not coming off an injury plagued 97-98 season and back surgery. Pippen had been waiting forever to get paid and he was taking no shorts that year.
I'll take this a bit further, IF you could magically transport either team through time, I think the 99 Spurs would have had a decent chance against the 98 Bulls
Of course Steve Kerr guarding himself might have messed with the time space continuum
I think it comes down to who has the best glue guy, tbh.
I wish they could’ve played, cause then Timmys dominance would have been that much more impressive
athletic running the floor timmy
It was the end of the doc. Jordan said that had the re-signed Phil then he would’ve come back. He said Dennis would’ve come back. That Scotty would’ve come back bc Jordan would’ve made sure it worked out in the FO and that the others would’ve signed one year contracts to go for 4.
I know that they would’ve been worse that year but Jordan was still MVP and averaging 30 a game and still playing good defense. Phil owned Pop in the playoffs and it would’ve been a battle for sure. Astericks win game 1 and then Chicago wins game 2 and finishes them off back in SA
Serious question: were you an NBA fan in the late 90s? Pippen was always incredibly pissed about being underpaid and was not taking shorts once he hit free agency. There was no way in he was signing a one year deal that year, and especially not after missing half of 97-98 and getting surgery. Pippen was making peanuts. Highest paid player on the team was Jordan. Next were Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc, then Rodman, then Longley, and finally Pippen. Sixth highest paid player on the roster, only making $2.8 million when Longley was pulling $3.2 million and Harper $4.5 million. Pippen was mad as about this and was determined to get paid once his Bulls contract ran out. Would you blame him when he was a franchise player sandwiched in between Bill Wennington and Luc Longley in terms of what he was getting paid? He was not signing a one year deal.
The Bulls could not make him a large single year offer like they could Jordan because Jordan was signed under a collective bargaining agreement that allowed you to sign your own Bird Free Agents to whatever the you wanted to. That's how Jordan made $33 million in 1997-98 despite the salary cap being only around $30 million. And they could have paid him up to $34.8 million in 99 because his contract was grandfathered in under the new 1999 CBA. But Pippen they couldn't make a big $25 million single year offer to. All they could offer was the standard max salary of $11 million set by the 1999 collective bargaining agreement. Had they renegotiated Pippen's deal in the summer of 97 and given him say $20 million that season then they could have had that one grandfathered in too under the 1999 CBA, and offered him $21 million in 1999 (a 5% raise on the grandfathered 1998 contract). So it was five year max deal or he was walking.
And he was right to want to chase the long-term money, because he was never the same player again after that surgery. A stone cold fact you keep ignoring when acting like a hypothetical 99 Bulls team was going to continue in the tradition of the 96, 97, and 98 teams. You're minimizing just how great Pippen was before that surgery by acting like that slowed down Pippen would still let them be favorites in 99.
Last edited by baseline bum; 05-20-2020 at 11:42 PM.
Please someone tell me why 33 year old Scottie Pippen, angry for years about being paid peanuts without his contract being renegotiated, on the verge of the first big contract of his entire career, coming off a year where he missed half the season, coming off back surgery, and who hated the Bulls front office... tell me why he was signing a one year deal in Chicago for $11 million when his market value turned out to be 5 years, $67 million.
I started following the NBA and became a fan in 1995. Same year Spurs lost to the Rockets. I loved the NBA more than I did the Spurs (whom I liked). But my favorite players were really kinda random players and not at all the stars of the league, like Starks and KJ and Kukoc. I didn’t really become a Spurs fan until we got Tim.
Trolling aside I do think the Spurs win. Tim was a monster that year. He was unstoppable. He shat all over Dudley (whom I compare to Longley) and destroyed Cambys soul. I mean that was the most dominant finals I had ever seen from a player (even better than his 03 finals). Rodman was finished and that 99 Laker team was a mess anyways. The Logo really did work and changed the whole dynamic of the Lakers very quickly.
Anyways yeah Pippen wanted out like 3 years prior so no way he was staying. Harper was done. Everybody was just tired and old and worn out. It happens. But I would’ve loved to have seen that match up. It would’ve just added to Duncan’s legacy who through the nitpicking of the national media don’t really credit Duncan’s championships. “He beat the Knicks! They were the 8th seed! That whole season was a mess. Spurs weren’t that great of a champion”
Sidenote the 01 Lakers really ed us over bc they. Only lost 1 game and beat our record of 15-2 that I was super proud of as a Spurs fan
I just wanted to point out "Harper was done"
In 1999 Harper had a higher PER than 3/5 of the Spurs starting lineup.
And he would start 78 games the following season in 2000 for the Champions
That team was all about Rice, Kobe, and Shaq. Harpers job really was to just play decent defense and get the ball to Shaq
No way Steve Kerr could guard himself.
I'd take the Spurs in that series, but only because Pippen's back injury was inevitable considering he screwed it up on a non-contact play after a dunk, I think in Game 1 of the Finals. By games 5 & 6 of that series Pippen was absolutely worthless. Now if it was the 98 Bulls with a healthy Pippen I'd probably take them in 7 against the 99 Spurs.
The '99 team also had another record which was the longest playoff win streak at 12 games. That was the record I was proud of. I was pissed off when the Warriors broke it in '17. Them taking out #2 allowed them to get the record.
If Jordan won in '99 there would have been no asterisk talk I can tell you that
Definitely Spurs
Early prime Duncan > late prime Jordan
Past prime Robinson > Past prime Pippen
That whole asterisk thing started with Jackson playig mind games
This is about how I see it. The Twin Towers would absolutely dominate this matchup.
Or anyone else for that matter
Only this time he would be 36 years old.
Wasn't a real season anyhow so it doesn't matter.
99 Spurs and it's not even particularly close tbh
I actually think to an extent Bulls MGT saved Jordan from himself. So much of that GOAT legacy is about the 6/6.. Never saw him really fail in big spots in the 90's, other than 95, and I give him a pass on that. But if MJ Wanted to run the tank dry, Bulls obviously lose, and we see Jordan fail.. When I was a kid I always thought it was so great he went out on top..
Then came the Wizards, and lets not discuss that..
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