Still, Michael Jordan believes the Bulls will win again. When asked the other day to assess all the problems that bedevil the defending champions, he deftly pivoted and pointed to his cleanly shaved scalp.
“Mental toughness,” Jordan said.
With every new crisis, he assured, the Bulls gain strength.
If only the rest of Chicago could be so optimistic. Let us assume Scottie Pippen will end his snit, get healthy and resume playing basketball. Can he be trusted, ever again? What happens if he claims a headache before a game in April, or neuritis in May, or neuralgia in June?
Jordan dismissed this notion out of hand, then went to his head one more time.
“Mental toughness,” he said.
If only. What has happened lately to this unique team is different from anything that threatened it before. Pippen’s wildcat strike is not just another volley between management and labor, not just another adventure in creative tension, not just another hurdle propped up to interrupt the tedium of a marathon regular schedule.
Pippen violated a bond. He and Jordan and Phil Jackson huddled in Detroit late last season to discuss their futures. They decided, one more time, together. The Three Amigos would unite in quest of a sixth NBA title, then hope that their wish would be granted, then scatter.
But Pippen, at least in spirit, signed off with his declaration of independence a couple of weeks ago. This is serious stuff because this is not Jerry Reinsdorf musing about how he doesn’t want the Bulls to become the Boston Celtics, and it is not Jerry Krause, the jolly fisherman, casting about for Tim Floyd.
Pippen’s job action is an inside job. Whatever annoyances have afflicted the Bulls, they always have been able to close ranks, shut out the rest of the world and elevate themselves for 48 minutes a night. Them against us. Mental toughness.
But Pippen’s pout could affect the mix, if it hasn’t already. For Jordan and Jackson to chide Pippen in print and on air, however gently, is significant. Jordan and Pippen are more than complementary superstars. They are buddies, or at least were until Pippen dropped his bombshell.
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Imagine the real extent of Jordan’s dismay. He is so possessed about winning one more time that he tolerates even Dennis Rodman. Yet here’s his pal, calling off their deal, without advance notice. And this is the guy with whom Jordan pledged to go to war?
Pippen’s remarks and his timing were so bizarre that he’s even swayed public opinion toward Reinsdorf and Krause, who were cast as the opponents of status quo. Alas, now the dissolution of this brilliant team might come from within, from one of the three main championship components. Imagine if Jackson announced suddenly that he had tired of being a mistreated coach and would leave for Montana tomorrow.
Pippen is talented enough to be great again and be cheered again in Chicago, the most forgiving city in sports, but it doesn’t really matter what fans think or what the media think. This goes deeper. This goes to the locker room, to the bus rides, to the team dinners.
When Pippen returns, they’ll still pass him the ball. But can they rely on him, or do they keep an eye peeled for his next traveling violation? Jordan has it figured out, and he presumes his fickle friend is listening.
“I’m looking for one more ring,” Jordan said. “And the day after the parade, if there is a parade, I’m going to vanish to the golf course forever. Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
Perhaps that message, too, is intended for Scottie Pippen.