Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story

Moderators: Domejandro, infinite11285, Harry Garris, ken6199, Dirk, bisme37, KingDavid, bwgood77, zimpy27, cupcakesnake

wutevahung
Pro Prospect
Posts: 940
And1: 665
Joined: Dec 13, 2012

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#41 » by wutevahung » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:07 pm

Pythagoras wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:I loved Pippen the basketball player, but he’s shown over the years that he’s holding on to so much jealousy that he can’t move past.

He’s within his rights to give his side but there are some things which don’t require further explanation that showed how mentally weak Pippen could be in certain situations.

I’m not saying he needs to kiss the ground Jordan walks on, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Scottie starting his career anywhere else doesn’t have the success, fame or reputation that he ended up with


I kind of agree with this. Scottie was fantastic and he deserves his props for his contributions to those teams, but Jordan was clearly the engine making them go. Being called a “sidekick” to one of the 3 or 4 most dominant basketball players to ever play is not exactly an insult.


I think the difference between like Wade sidekick to LeBron, or Russ sidekick for KD, is that Pippen wasn't treated with the respect of an all NBA team player, and most importantly, PAID like one. There is no doubt that majority of his gripe is coming from being underpaid. He made a bad decision to sign that contract, but the world was different back then.

Also, ya, "Last Dance" was definitely created for casual fans who didn't know much about the Bulls. I don't think I learned anything new. It was interesting, but not that informative, and was definitely biased toward Mike. There were multiple occasions that they omitted Michael's shortcoming for better story telling, and downplayed his teammates's accomplishment and impacts.
User avatar
Chanel Bomber
RealGM
Posts: 21,986
And1: 37,075
Joined: Sep 20, 2018
 

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#42 » by Chanel Bomber » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:07 pm

Most overrated, bitter and ungrateful player in NBA history.
FreeThrowLine
Veteran
Posts: 2,584
And1: 4,274
Joined: Jun 12, 2020

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#43 » by FreeThrowLine » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:08 pm

The Explorer wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:Having said all that, the first thing that came to mind in all honesty is that Pippen is trying to cash in on the success of the Last Dance documentary and figured now would be a good time to make some money


Why would he need the cash though? He had a comfortable gig at ESPN jump, not sure if he left that.
He got divorced a couple years ago I believe, and his son died recently. Not sure if those things would trigger a cash/publicity grab like this. He doesn't strike me as out for publicity, though he does seem petty.


I can only make assumptions as I don’t know the mans financial position BUT history shows us that he’s made some poor financial decisions over the years

He also has a reputation as being cheap (see the whole ‘no tippin Pippen’ thing)

Plus the years he was underpaid as a player seem to still bother him. But this is just my assumption based on my initial impression
The Explorer
RealGM
Posts: 10,434
And1: 2,846
Joined: Jul 11, 2005

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#44 » by The Explorer » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:10 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
The Explorer wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:Having said all that, the first thing that came to mind in all honesty is that Pippen is trying to cash in on the success of the Last Dance documentary and figured now would be a good time to make some money


Why would he need the cash though? He had a comfortable gig at ESPN jump, not sure if he left that.
He got divorced a couple years ago I believe, and his son died recently. Not sure if those things would trigger a cash/publicity grab like this. He doesn't strike me as out for publicity, though he does seem petty.


Pretty well known Pippen was absolutely horrible with money...at one point if I'm remembering correctly the guy had a private plane. he never had that kind of money which is why he's had financial problem after financial problem.


That was a long time ago and those issues have mostly been resolved in court. That's why I mentioned the ESPN gig, he seemed to have a steady income most recently. No clear reason for a money grab here in 2021.
FreeThrowLine
Veteran
Posts: 2,584
And1: 4,274
Joined: Jun 12, 2020

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#45 » by FreeThrowLine » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:14 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:I loved Pippen the basketball player, but he’s shown over the years that he’s holding on to so much jealousy that he can’t move past.

He’s within his rights to give his side but there are some things which don’t require further explanation that showed how mentally weak Pippen could be in certain situations.

I’m not saying he needs to kiss the ground Jordan walks on, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Scottie starting his career anywhere else doesn’t have the success, fame or reputation that he ended up with


I strongly disagree. Sure he doesn't win 6 titles, but he'd have been the second best wing in the nba and he'd be much more respected as an offensive player and potentially defensive player had he had his own team to run.


That’s based on the assumption he develops into the same player without the mental/physical struggles he had to overcome in the playoff series against the Pistons and the possible confidence of having a guy like MJ by his side both in game and to go against in practice.

He MIGHT have turned out better, or he might have been on a team that missed the playoff year after year with no one to push him to reach the level he did.

We can only assume, but I disagree about him possibly being more respected defensively, he’s already highly thought of in that regards.

Offensively, he was too inconsistent and I don’t think he lacked opportunity to take a larger role within the offense, he played to his abilities on that end
User avatar
Lunartic
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,766
And1: 9,254
Joined: Nov 28, 2015

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#46 » by Lunartic » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:14 pm

The Explorer wrote:
Lunartic wrote:But he was Jordan's sidekick, that's exactly what he was known for.

He's the epitome of a sidekick, the perfect #2 man.


I think Pippen's point would be by labeling him a sidekick, it undermines what he actually did for those teams. In the post he calls himself the real leader of the team. In other interviews he has said Jordan was not responsible for many things on the court outside of scoring. It was Pippen who was tasked with guarding the best opposing player, playmaking, leadership etc. So I think in his mind he was not a sidekick, he was 1b right next to MJ.


Welp he's delusional. He's just a #2 guy and can't win anything without an alpha dog scorer.
cursedsportsfan
Rookie
Posts: 1,021
And1: 1,448
Joined: Apr 19, 2014
       

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#47 » by cursedsportsfan » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:15 pm

Johnny Bball wrote:If you want to cringe at being called Jordan's sidekick, maybe "Unguarded" isn't the best title.


I do feel like Pippen doesn't get enough credit but yeah that title is a real head scratcher lol.
VanWest82
RealGM
Posts: 18,896
And1: 17,556
Joined: Dec 05, 2008

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#48 » by VanWest82 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:16 pm

30+ years of Scottie’s insecurity all bubbling to the surface at once. How can this possibly go wrong?
DoctorX
Veteran
Posts: 2,670
And1: 3,509
Joined: Oct 03, 2020
   

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#49 » by DoctorX » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:24 pm

I'm just looking forward to hearing some of the entertaining stories about MJ doing crazy stuff. For example recently MJ's former Wizard teammates talked about how MJ during practice kicked the basketball high into the stands and told Kwame Brown to chase the ball down and that there were leaving for the team bus and he didn't care if Kwame missed the bus.
User avatar
Capn'O
Senior Mod - Knicks
Senior Mod - Knicks
Posts: 79,992
And1: 89,973
Joined: Dec 16, 2005
Location: Our Process is... Underground
 

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#50 » by Capn'O » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:29 pm

Michael Jackson wrote:
Harry Garris wrote:A lot of people will call this whining or whatever but I don't really blame Pippen for feeling the way that he felt. No other sports figure in the US at least has had a fanatical, cult-like fanbase to the level of Michael Jordan. Pippen has had to deal with being overlooked, undervalued, and blamed for shortcomings more than any other star player has.

It's similar to what Lebron's teammates have had to deal with when they're given no credit for winning and all the blame for losses... But Pippen had to deal with that for his entire career and not just a couple of seasons.



To be honest, I was fervent Pippen supporter and was meh on MJ growing up. It was an odd stance that i took growing up in Chicago. So I would dog MJ and point out his flaws (oddly though I had personal experiences with him and he was a great guy). I fully supported Pippen but damn Pip you just constantly shoot yourself in the foot. He was always jealous that MJ got the press but I mean Mike was better. MJ doesn't have 6 rings without Pippen there is no doubt about that, no one will dispute that but Pippen was a #2, it wasn't a 1A and 1B thing. Why is it shocking that the most influential athlete from your sport of all time is getting press?

As for recent Pippen, after Jerry Reinsdorf (albeit he is an evil man) bailed him out of financial issues 2 times (maybe 3) you still and mouth him. While working as an ambassador for the Bulls you go on national TV and dog them... Then try to spin it that they are wrong in the situation. I mean Jerry is an easy target and anyone else bashing him I am behind but with Pip... c'mon man he employed you 2 times he didn't have to... he took care of you even after you drug his name through the mud and influenced the NBA to hate the man (which is deserved just not from Pippen)

This book should be fun though. I 100% get it though MJ is a prick everyone knows it, Pippen and Grant hated how they were portrayed, but no one is really going to care. I'm guessing this is a fund raiser because Larsa needs alimony and or Pippen had another "bad" investment. Pip I will always love you but ungrateful definitely applies.


He's like your Oakley.
BAF Clippers
PG: CP3 | SGA
SG: SGA | Big Ragu
SF: J Brown | Dorture Chamber
PF: Gordon | Niang
C: Capela | Sharpe

Deep Bench - Forrest | Oladipo | Fernando | Young | Svi | Cody Martin


:beer:
Pythagoras
Analyst
Posts: 3,601
And1: 3,282
Joined: Aug 15, 2012
Location: KC, Mo
     

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#51 » by Pythagoras » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:41 pm

wutevahung wrote:
Pythagoras wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:I loved Pippen the basketball player, but he’s shown over the years that he’s holding on to so much jealousy that he can’t move past.

He’s within his rights to give his side but there are some things which don’t require further explanation that showed how mentally weak Pippen could be in certain situations.

I’m not saying he needs to kiss the ground Jordan walks on, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Scottie starting his career anywhere else doesn’t have the success, fame or reputation that he ended up with


I kind of agree with this. Scottie was fantastic and he deserves his props for his contributions to those teams, but Jordan was clearly the engine making them go. Being called a “sidekick” to one of the 3 or 4 most dominant basketball players to ever play is not exactly an insult.


I think the difference between like Wade sidekick to LeBron, or Russ sidekick for KD, is that Pippen wasn't treated with the respect of an all NBA team player, and most importantly, PAID like one. There is no doubt that majority of his gripe is coming from being underpaid. He made a bad decision to sign that contract, but the world was different back then.

Also, ya, "Last Dance" was definitely created for casual fans who didn't know much about the Bulls. I don't think I learned anything new. It was interesting, but not that informative, and was definitely biased toward Mike. There were multiple occasions that they omitted Michael's shortcoming for better story telling, and downplayed his teammates's accomplishment and impacts.


I agree that the last dance was basically a MJ fluff piece that did nothing for me.

As far as him not getting the respect of an All NBA player, I have to ask, who didn’t respect Scottie’s game? When you talk about greatest duos in NBA history, he and Jordan always come up as being in the conversation (as they should).

The pay thing is another story, and I can understand him having bitter feelings over that. I should point out though, he WAS given a cushy job later on with the Bulls where they paid him a lot of money for him not really doing anything.
Numbers rule the universe.
User avatar
Han Solo
General Manager
Posts: 9,701
And1: 7,443
Joined: Jan 07, 2011
Contact:
     

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#52 » by Han Solo » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:43 pm

I’m a Pistons fan since 1984. One aspect the Last Dance got right was the fact Pippen was soft at first. He never got “tough” until they took out the Pistons in 1991. Before that, Laimbeer could always get him off his game.

He evolved into a all-time great player and I respect that.

But coming at Michael Jordan isn’t wise. Jordan was as good as people make him out to be.
The Explorer
RealGM
Posts: 10,434
And1: 2,846
Joined: Jul 11, 2005

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#53 » by The Explorer » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:46 pm

Pythagoras wrote:
The pay thing is another story, and I can understand him having bitter feelings over that. I should point out though, he WAS given a cushy job later on with the Bulls where they paid him a lot of money for him not really doing anything.


And on top of that the Bulls paid him 5-6m a year for two years to finish out his career in Chicago. By that time he was advanced in age and mostly an injured, bench player. Maybe it didn't make up for the first bad contract, but the bulls did help him out quite a bit in his last years and in post-retirement.
dhsilv2
RealGM
Posts: 42,322
And1: 22,213
Joined: Oct 04, 2015

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#54 » by dhsilv2 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:54 pm

The Explorer wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
The Explorer wrote:
Why would he need the cash though? He had a comfortable gig at ESPN jump, not sure if he left that.
He got divorced a couple years ago I believe, and his son died recently. Not sure if those things would trigger a cash/publicity grab like this. He doesn't strike me as out for publicity, though he does seem petty.


Pretty well known Pippen was absolutely horrible with money...at one point if I'm remembering correctly the guy had a private plane. he never had that kind of money which is why he's had financial problem after financial problem.


That was a long time ago and those issues have mostly been resolved in court. That's why I mentioned the ESPN gig, he seemed to have a steady income most recently. No clear reason for a money grab here in 2021.


This is a guy who wanted to own a private air plane...I think someone offered him a big check after the last dance and he jumped on it
Ursusamericanus
Veteran
Posts: 2,509
And1: 2,466
Joined: Jan 06, 2012
Location: Sacramento
 

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#55 » by Ursusamericanus » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:56 pm

We'll be able to establish a 95% confidence interval for the truth/reality of the situation by comparing MJ's side to Pip's. And then we'll know where the truth lies.
dhsilv2
RealGM
Posts: 42,322
And1: 22,213
Joined: Oct 04, 2015

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#56 » by dhsilv2 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:58 pm

FreeThrowLine wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:I loved Pippen the basketball player, but he’s shown over the years that he’s holding on to so much jealousy that he can’t move past.

He’s within his rights to give his side but there are some things which don’t require further explanation that showed how mentally weak Pippen could be in certain situations.

I’m not saying he needs to kiss the ground Jordan walks on, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Scottie starting his career anywhere else doesn’t have the success, fame or reputation that he ended up with


I strongly disagree. Sure he doesn't win 6 titles, but he'd have been the second best wing in the nba and he'd be much more respected as an offensive player and potentially defensive player had he had his own team to run.


That’s based on the assumption he develops into the same player without the mental/physical struggles he had to overcome in the playoff series against the Pistons and the possible confidence of having a guy like MJ by his side both in game and to go against in practice.

He MIGHT have turned out better, or he might have been on a team that missed the playoff year after year with no one to push him to reach the level he did.

We can only assume, but I disagree about him possibly being more respected defensively, he’s already highly thought of in that regards.

Offensively, he was too inconsistent and I don’t think he lacked opportunity to take a larger role within the offense, he played to his abilities on that end


Playing with Jordan if anything stunted Pippen's development as a player. Jordan was a horrible leader, who lead by breaking people down. Pippen survived that and it did make him he was became...which is almost certainly a lesser version than could have come about with better veteran leaders on the team. Especially on offense. As for defense, people still have Jordan more credit for the defense than Pippen, Jordan even won a DPOY award. Pippen among casual fans would have had a much better defensive reputation.
Eyeamok
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,465
And1: 3,372
Joined: Mar 02, 2006

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#57 » by Eyeamok » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:07 pm

Oh Scottie you are always in your feelings. Remember when you sulked on the bench because the play was not called for you?.
The Accession of Paul Reed is upon us !

You want it to be one way....but it's the other way.

Marlo
User avatar
hauntedcomputer
Starter
Posts: 2,461
And1: 3,671
Joined: Apr 18, 2021
Contact:

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#58 » by hauntedcomputer » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:11 pm

cursedsportsfan wrote:
Johnny Bball wrote:If you want to cringe at being called Jordan's sidekick, maybe "Unguarded" isn't the best title.


I do feel like Pippen doesn't get enough credit but yeah that title is a real head scratcher lol.


They were attempting a double meaning of "Unguarded" in the sense that Pippen is being fully forthcoming in the book. Much like a Pippen jumper, it clanked.
+++
Schadenfreude is undefeated.
bradybunch
Rookie
Posts: 1,003
And1: 1,475
Joined: Feb 08, 2021

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#59 » by bradybunch » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:15 pm

Pippen was my favorite player during their run.

I always wanted him to get more credit.

But then I heard Madonna turned down Jordan for Pippen because, well, let's just say Pippen is quite the man, and I stopped feeling sorry for Pippen.

I think Jordan was jealous of Pippen in other ways.
Eyeamok
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,465
And1: 3,372
Joined: Mar 02, 2006

Re: Pippen Writing Memoir, Tells His Side of Story 

Post#60 » by Eyeamok » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:19 pm

FreeThrowLine wrote:
The Explorer wrote:
FreeThrowLine wrote:Having said all that, the first thing that came to mind in all honesty is that Pippen is trying to cash in on the success of the Last Dance documentary and figured now would be a good time to make some money


Why would he need the cash though? He had a comfortable gig at ESPN jump, not sure if he left that.
He got divorced a couple years ago I believe, and his son died recently. Not sure if those things would trigger a cash/publicity grab like this. He doesn't strike me as out for publicity, though he does seem petty.


He also has a reputation as being cheap (see the whole ‘no tippin Pippen’ thing)

Plus the years he was underpaid as a player seem to still bother him. But this is just my assumption based on my initial impression


He only has himself to blame. The Bulls and his agent at the time told him not to sign the long term contract. And he did because he wanted stability for his family. And he got it but then salaries took off and he was like "I need to get paid more !" But scottie you signed a long term contract !? Poor scottie always getting the shaft.
The Accession of Paul Reed is upon us !

You want it to be one way....but it's the other way.

Marlo

Return to The General Board