I'm not going to ignore how Scottie dissed us, nor will I forget, but I can't help but wonder how badass this team would be with him on it. For a moment, let's ignore that he's a coward. It's ironic that after he leaves, we incorporate a motion offense. Certainly he doesn't see any more motion in Portland than he would if he were a member of the team now. He's still doing his stop-and-pop threes, occasionally ISOing to his fadeaway (still being blocked by Kobe lol) and dumping to Rasheed for the 'oop. Everyone's complaint about the team last year was- no backcourt. Rookie backcourt. Can't get far with that. Who do we add- Steve Francis and Shandon Anderson. I still get tingles in my spine when I remember those weeks before the training camp, thinking of our Hall of Fame frontcourt with the new Backcourt from Hell. You have to wonder- how would we have done with that starting five? Drew, Mobley and Massenburg off the bench. Finally, Pippen gets less minutes with a worthy backup in Shandon. But it's useless- fact is, we never would have really stepped fully into the motion offense we have unless both Hakeem and Bark had gone down. But please, allow me this hypothetical situation- what if Pippen had stayed, and Hakeem and Bark went down? I say, we would be a playoff team. Even with a Massenburg/Pig Miller/Thomas rotation at 4 and 5. Pippen would finally be in his comfort zone- playing with an awesome scoring go-to guy who is better than he is- Francis. Blinebury and Co. would still write articles about how Pippen is the man and is the glue holding the team together, but at the same time the inevitable Pippen/Jordan Pippen/Francis comparisons would come. Just imagine how our offense would operate with Pippen in there to smooth things out- that is, if he could accept that Fracis and probably Mobes are better scorers than him. If he could accept his role as Facilitator, man, we would be whoopin ass. Maybe not killing everyone, but I would say 4th-7th seed. I can't ask 'was the trade worth it?' What choice did we have, when he showed his true colors? Once we found he was a coward and a traitor, there was really no turning back. Are Wizard, Rogers, Cato equal value? Debatable. I am very, very happy we are set at center for years to come, but the fact is this team (the motion oriented, guard dominated one, not the one in Nov) would be winning more with Pippen on it. ------------------
If we still had Scotie, we'd have one more games, for sure, maybe even a low seed playoff spot, but we would lose and have no draft picks. ------------------
Sorry Fro, but I'd rather win more games and MAKE the playoffs than be a lottery team. ------------------ The lottery sucks!
I'd rather work with the team we have now and eventually go all the way then I would making the playoffs every year and getting crushed by the Lakers or Jazz. Screw Quitten. He's gone and he took his big ass contract with him. Can we just move on now, please?? ------------------ STOP and POP
This was the Projected lineup: Hakeem C. Barkley Pippen Anderson Francis after hakeem and CB got injured we're looking at . Pig Thomas Pippen Anderson Francis Remember we cannot include Cato , Williams , Carlos R. 3 nice complimentary players we would not have...... but if you look at the original line up , it would have been good in theory with the proper system but the DIT would have just made it way to crowded in the backcourt and therefore it would not have allowed Francis , Anderson and Pip to be used to the max of their abilities but once Hak and CB went down then we would have been better in the front but weak in the back court... so what does all this means ? yeah , there would be some more games that we would have won for sure and the trasition between the DIT and moving off. system we have now would have been much better , you never know we probably be running the triangle w/pip leading it and Francis playing the Jordan role in it ...... we never know what it could have been but one thing for sure , I really believe it would have been better then it was for us this yr. ------------------ Please give us an excuse to party on Richmond street once again!
3pointer, Exactly... We'd have Barkley end his career after only 19 games. We'd have Hakeem with the same abdominal and bronchial problems. We'd still have Scottie "cancer" Pippen on our team. (See that's a negative) And, we'd have no youth. Yea, sounds fun. ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem. [This message has been edited by DREAMer (edited April 06, 2000).]
I was unhappy about the trade for the same reason. Before the trade I thought a Stevie, SA, Pip, Chuck & Hak line-up could have been a serious contender for a title (with Mobes, TMass, DMac, Pig, Bull off the bench, just thinking off hand). However, now seeing how over the hill Pippen really is and how completely off the map Hakeem is, we wouldn't have had a snowballs chance of being better than the Lakers even IF we stayed healthy. Rudy and Co did the right thing in dumping Pippen's salary and getting some decent younger and cheaper players. [This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited April 06, 2000).]
I'm really glad we trade Pippen, not because I don't like him, but because it was a good trade for us. 1.)Without Cato, where would we be? Hakeem goes down, and has been down the whole season, and we have no tall shotblocker/intimidator in the middle. Plus, we got our center of the future who seems to be improving quite well. He is one of the most athletic big men I have ever seen. No telling what a summer of work will do, and Cato did say that he WILL WORK HARD. 2.)Carlos isn't really that bad. He's a tall athletic guy with a lot of speed, and he is also improving. Sure, he's been injured most of the 2nd half, but he's proved himself to be a hard worker. Reminds me sorta of a Shandon Anderson because he's always hustling to get the rebounds. He could be one of those "solidifier" guys. 3.)I don't know how long Walt will be with us, but I hope we keep him. He's a versatile guy who is really coming into his own. That slump earlier in the season could be attributed to the changing lineups and offensive strategies. NOw, everything's more smooth, and the Wizard is playing well. But I think Rudy likes this guy, and I think we will keep him. 4.)What do we have with Pippen on our team? An aging guy who will be in his prime for only a year or so more. Even in his prime, he still isn't that good. Certainly not worth the amount of money we were paying him. Now, with Pippen gone, and Olajuwon retiring next year(it's gonna be weird without him), we can have a ton of money to sign an established player. ------------------ treasurer of the moochie norris fan club
Would Charles or Dream injured themselves (to these extents anyway) having to carry the team (okay, only Charles was carrying the team)? Ahhh.... who cares, just watch the Blazers lose home court advantage to the Jazz and say, geez I'm glad that Les doesn't have to pay 65,000,000.00 to Pippen over the next 4 years. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Achebe (edited April 06, 2000).]
I think w/ Pip but w/ CB & Dream injured we may have won a couple more games early on (before CB was injured) but we would essentially be in the same boat. No playoffs. Also I would guess Pip would have whined & cried his way out of here after the CB injury. Even if he hadn't I'm sure we would have had a lot of interest in him from playoff contendors. However we may have been able to pick up more quality than Cato & Walt if Pip would have kept his mouth shut in mid-season. But all that I care about is that Portland does not do better than last year (no trip to the Finals and no Championship). I want them to see that Pip actually made them a worse team!! ------------------
If we still had Pip..hmmmm... Dream Sequence (no pun intended): I see a weak bench. I see a hobbling Charles Barkley chasing Pippen around the locker room after a close loss to LA in which Scottie b****ed to the media about Francis getting the shots as the game was in its waning seconds.....I see Francis and Moochie catching and holding Pippen for Barkley. I see Barkely whooping the Holy **** out of Pippen...Pip cries, is admitted to the hospital, OD's on aspiring due to depression and intense Jordanitis, paints his face red and white and tells hospital staff he is MJ and is fighting the evil anti-bull Shaq. He in turn, is sent to a mental ward to rehabilitate. ------------------ HOOP-T Hey Shaq, Acme called, and they want their bricks back!
Hey HOOP-T... do MY fortune, too? ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain -
