The Bulls didn't change much in '94?!? The greatest player on the planet retiring 3-4 weeks before the season starts is change enough lol. At least the Lakers got some compensation for Shaq in Odom and Butler. Jordan pretty much left the Bulls with nothing in return. The Bulls didn't exactly come in with the same team either. Kukoc was a rookie, Wennington, Kerr, Jo Jo English, Pete Myers (Jordan's replacement), and Luc Longley were all new to the team. All those guys had to learn the triangle. I remember Phil Jackson having fits with Kukoc because he took so long to grasp the offensive sets. The only standouts from the championship years were B.J. Armstrong, Horace Grant and Scott Williams. John Paxson and Bill Cartwright barely played the season because both players were on their last legs. Also add to the fact that Pippen missed the first 10 games of the season recovering from ankle surgery it's amazing the Bulls win 55 games that year. If Pippen is healthy at the start of the season they most likely win 60+ and get homecourt for the playoffs.
I honestly think if you gave Pippen the same team Kobe has now they would be very competitive in the west because Pippen has always been a team player. He just naturally made the players around him better because...
1. Pippen had a higher b-ball IQ and a better understanding of the game
2. He lead by example busting his *** on defense and his teammates followed
3. He liked sharing the ball and was a pass first, shoot second kind of player. Lebron reminds me of that kind of player now and it's paying great results for the Cavs.
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