Sottie Pippen's take on the current Chicago Bulls players

[dolemite73]

Scottie Pippen's take on the current Chicago Bulls players

Was just reading where Scottie wants to coach. I would hire him. He knew the game:

Scottie Pippen says he has been watching the Bulls. Here are some of his observations:

• On Tyrus Thomas: "He can be a defender and a shotblocker. You don't want him taking those ill-advised shots, jumping and trying to pass the ball. He dribbles better with his left hand than his right. He must have broken his arm when he was a kid. He shouldn't be dribbling. He should be a fetcher. Like Ben Wallace, [Joakim] Noah, go get the ball. They don't have enough athletes. I could see why they went for someone like Thomas. He's athletic, but he doesn't know how to play the game. He's great from the neck down. What can he do? Have him do that."

• On Ben Wallace: "I'd say I need more effort from him. I need positive numbers in rebounds, deflections, charges. He's not playing with four All-Stars anymore. He plays defense every night or Tyrus Thomas is out there playing. You don't pay a rebounder $15 million. OK, they did. He doesn't know the game like Dennis Rodman did. Dennis knew how and why he got rebounds. So you keep on him or he doesn't play." (Co-sign)

• On Ben Gordon: "It's his shot selection. You take those bad shots, you're sitting down. He's out there shooting for a contract. Offensively, they can be as good as last year. But their shot selection is horrible. [Luol] Deng also is playing for a contract. There's no flow to their game. Gordon has to make plays. If there's two, three guys running at him, he still wants to make a shot. Those shots are out of position, your teammates don't expect them, you are not in position to rebound and get back. Taking bad shots is a sign of a lack of respect for your teammates. You think I'm going to run back if I know B.J. Armstrong is jacking it up? My shot is just as good as his. That's what players think."

• On Kirk Hinrich: "He just needs direction. He's guarding Kobe, Tracy McGrady, the best players. He's not that talented. Let him run the offense. But you can't have midgets running your backcourt. Little guards always put you in a vulnerable position. You've got to send help. It puts too much pressure on the defense. I'd tell Kirk to try to control the game, don't force shots, but late in the game be ready. Early, I'd have him off the ball." (Very astute observation. I agree totally)

• On Luol Deng: "He's solid. But he doesn't have enough speed. He plays more upright, so it's tough for him to go out and guard smaller guys. I think Deng is on the verge of being a star. But all that money talk added pressure. Now he's trying to show 28, 29 teams what he's about instead of going out and playing. When the reality is maybe one or two would be looking at him."

• On Andres Nocioni: "I'd sit down with him and say, 'Show me you're a winner and play like it. Not with those crazy antics. Make your hustle work in a positive way.' He's turning into Rasheed Wallace with the kinds of things he does on floor. It makes the officials turn on the whole team. And you stop getting calls. Don't shoot those ill-advised shots. Don't look to get bailed out by the refs."

I could see him as the next Bulls coach. He was a very smart player in his day (the 1.8 second fiasco notwithstanding).

Source:
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...ithbox,1,2317046.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

 

[The Amerikkkan Idol]

Pip, like Jordan and Rodman is a baskeball genius. I swear that 72-10 team is so underrated it's criminal. 3 of the best defenders ever on one team.

Makes me miss the old days.

 

[moblack]

Thats the problem with these guys coming out early. They haven't learned the game yet. I can't blame em for leaving for the money, but career working wise they aren't ready.

 

[PhillyTheKid]

72-10. That is just sick. May not be another team to ever do that.

 

[Nobody]

Thats the problem with these guys coming out early. They haven't learned the game yet. I can't blame em for leaving for the money, but career working wise they aren't ready.

How is it a problem because they came out early? Can't it just be that sometimes particular players, no matter if they came out early or left after four years in college, just won't put it together?

Kirk Hinrich has regressed, and he played all the way to his senior year in Kansas. Ben Gordon left after his Junior Year.

There are tons of players who have been bums after four years of college. Then look at guys who are the top players in the league. KG, Dwight Howard, Kobe, Lebron all out of high school.

 

[Johnny_2_Clips]

Thats the problem with these guys coming out early. They haven't learned the game yet. I can't blame em for leaving for the money, but career working wise they aren't ready.

It is not about coming out early. To be honest with you, there are two ways. Either you just have it and know basketball enough to do the right things, or you shut up and listen to the things you need to work on to be a better player for the team. Most of the players these days don't listen, and coaches need to get on their ass about it.

If Pippen was a coach, I could see the team changing for the better. He knew what it took to work as a team, and has the mind to be a great coach if he got the right team.

 

[c_commander]

He keeps mentioning contracts as if he never bitched or worried about his contract when he played. Hinrich has been guarding bigger players because he's a better defender than Ben Gordon or Chris Duhon. He's also 6-3 so he's tall for a PG. The Bulls have been successsful playing small ball in previous seasons and if they think it's that much of a problem they could start Sefolosha or Deng at the 2.
Thomas didn't play organized ball until his junior year of high school so he still has alot to learn. And other than Thomas and Deng the rest of the Bulls team played at least 3 years of college ball and the likes of Nocioni and Sefolosha have international experience.

 

[THE GRANDJURY]

Do people want to still say Jordan was winning games by himself.

 

[Nobody]

He keeps mentioning contracts as if he never bitched or worried about his contract when he played. Hinrich has been guarding bigger players because he's a better defender than Ben Gordon or Chris Duhon. He's also 6-3 so he's tall for a PG. The Bulls have been successsful playing small ball in previous seasons and if they think it's that much of a problem they could start Sefolosha or Deng at the 2.
Thomas didn't play organized ball until his junior year of high school so he still has alot to learn. And other than Thomas and Deng the rest of the Bulls team played at least 3 years of college ball and the likes of Nocioni and Sefolosha have international experience.

The difference is these guys are third star guys trying to get first star pay. Scottie was second on the bulls, but on every other team in the NBA except for a handful he'd be the no1 guy, and he wasn't getting properly compensated for what he did. There was a point in time where Pippen was the 6th highest paid player on the team.

Check their last championship.

Jordan
Kukoc
Rodman
Longley
Ron Harper

ALL got paid more than Pippen. Jordan is the only one who should have been making more. There's no reason why Longley, Harper or Kukoc should be making more. Rodman was a great player, no doubt, but he played only half the court most of the time, while Pippen is an all time great defender, and could score. That's a travesty, and he had every right to complain about his contract.

I can't think of a more underpaid player. 5 fuckin rings and bum ass longley is getting more?

 

[cranrab]

i disagree that scottie pippen would make a good head coach.

many of his statements included comparisons to bulls teams/players from more than a decade ago. that shit doesn't fly well with these young players today because they have no frame of reference.

that's 1 of the reasons why coach wilkens has had such poor success with his teams the last several years. great player, great coach, but the young players can't relate to him and they stop playing for him.

 

[Kratos]

He keeps mentioning contracts as if he never bitched or worried about his contract when he played. Hinrich has been guarding bigger players because he's a better defender than Ben Gordon or Chris Duhon. He's also 6-3 so he's tall for a PG. The Bulls have been successsful playing small ball in previous seasons and if they think it's that much of a problem they could start Sefolosha or Deng at the 2.
Thomas didn't play organized ball until his junior year of high school so he still has alot to learn. And other than Thomas and Deng the rest of the Bulls team played at least 3 years of college ball and the likes of Nocioni and Sefolosha have international experience.

True, he did.. I think that is exactly why he knows what he is talking about.

 

[Chase Bannon]

Pip, like Jordan and Rodman is a baskeball genius. I swear that 72-10 team is so underrated it's criminal. 3 of the best defenders ever on one team.

Makes me miss the old days.

You must mean on the court geniuses. Off the court Jordan can't run a team. He evaluates talent badly.

Scottie sounds like he trying to be a coach but some of his assessments are wrong.

Tyrus Thomas problem is he is playing with ben Wallace. They both basically have the same game and neither can provide low post scoring. They should have traded for Paul Gasol when they had the chance because he can put up low post numbers.

Ben Wallace was over paid. He can't score. So they need to find a way to get rid of him if Tyrus Thomas is the future.

Kirk is a good PG. He has to play bigger guards on a regular basis. That the price you have to pay will a small back court. Scottie is wrong because Kirk needs to have the ball. He controls the game well. Why would you want your best ball handler not having the ball????

Ben Gorden needs to be playing next to a tall PG. He needs someone to offset his height. He takes ill advised shots because they Bulls rely heavily on their back court to score. Therefore he has to take more shots than they typical nba guard has to. Ben or Kirk needs to be traded for a bigger guard.

Nocioni is fine. He is a good 6th man. Sounds like Scottie has a beef against this guy.

Lou. Scottie calls him slow. LOL Mashburn was slow also. Mashburn probably was the best small forward in the NBA, but injuries killed him. Lou reminds me of Mashburn. Same style and all.

Chicago's problem lies within the front office. They drafted and signed players they didn't need. Their problem has been low post scoring for years. They know this and they continued to draft and sign non low post scoring players each year. Tyrus Thomas, Ben Wallace and Noah.

 

[AgentGraves]

In my opinion, 72-10 > 16-0

 

[c_commander]

The difference is these guys are third star guys trying to get first star pay. Scottie was second on the bulls, but on every other team in the NBA except for a handful he'd be the no1 guy, and he wasn't getting properly compensated for what he did. There was a point in time where Pippen was the 6th highest paid player on the team.

Check their last championship.

Jordan
Kukoc
Rodman
Longley
Ron Harper

ALL got paid more than Pippen. Jordan is the only one who should have been making more. There's no reason why Longley, Harper or Kukoc should be making more. Rodman was a great player, no doubt, but he played only half the court most of the time, while Pippen is an all time great defender, and could score. That's a travesty, and he had every right to complain about his contract.

I can't think of a more underpaid player. 5 fuckin rings and bum ass longley is getting more?

I'm not saying that he wasn't underpaid cause he was. But he chose to sign the contract and he chose to bitch about it later on. One of several questionable occurences in his career.
As far as the current squad Gordon was dumb as hell to turn down 10 mil a year when he's a 1 dimensional player and huge defensive liability. Back at UConn he took the ball to the rim and now he's scared to do so when he's very athletic.
The only person on the team willing to take contact is Nocioni. The Bulls are a team of shooters. They need to play more aggressively on both ends in order to create turnovers and generate free throw opportunities.They're 25th in the league in free throw attempts right now alongside teams such as Minnesota, Toronto, and Phoenix. The main difference is that each of these teams has a go-to post player in addition to their perimeter players(with the exception of Minnesota).

 

[lazarus]

im glad he aint boss, harsh like a muthafucker. have niggaz crying over self-esteem issues. scott skiles was like that, and that shit wears on a player after awhile. be zen and dont say it like phil jackson, or let the other players lead by example like greg popovich

 

[lazarus]

pippen said hinrich is not that talented lol i disagree big time. he wouldnt be in the league if he wasnt. damn, man. If my boss came to me and said you're not worthy of working here, why would i stay? nobody would want to play for that. these old school players and coaches are out of touch. that military, drill shit dont work like it used to.

 

[Nobody]

He's right. Hinrich isnt that talented for what people think he's supposed to be.

 

[DiamondDeuce]

How is it a problem because they came out early? Can't it just be that sometimes particular players, no matter if they came out early or left after four years in college, just won't put it together?
There are tons of players who have been bums after four years of college. Then look at guys who are the top players in the league. KG, Dwight Howard, Kobe, Lebron all out of high school.

I respectfully disagree with you. Having players going straight to the league has contributed to the shitty play that you see today.

You have players on the NBA floor who do not understand fundamentals. Hell even the NBA organizations realized that and compensated by bringing in more foreign players who supposedly had more "experience, fundamentals, shooting ability". All foreign players did was have PLAYERS on NBA teams that the fans could not get behind........because nobody knew who the fuck these guys were.

Then since you got typically physically weak foreign players, and young players with fundamentals.......inside play and scoring suffers. So what does the league do? In an effort to improve/inflate scoring the league changes the defensive rules... and blow the whistle more. So currently in the league you can't even play fucking defense!

At least now instead of drafting bums like Kwame Brown......... you can at least see if a player can play.............when he actually plays against guys at his own skill level in college.

As opposed to draft a guy based up on POTENTIAL demonstrated via watching him dunk over 5'10 PREP SCHOOL whiteboys in highschool........and thinking he is the next greatest.

 

[dolemite73]

He's right. Hinrich isnt that talented for what people think he's supposed to be.

I agree. Let him play the point and guard folks his size. Get a bigger guard in there to guard the Kobe's, the Chauncey's and the Ray Allen's. Have him guarding folks he is supposed to, play the point and knock down the occasional trey, and he is all good.

 

[lazarus]

i agree with what you guys are saying, but dont flat out say hes not talented. hinrich may be able to handle that, but more and more players come into the league with one or two years of school, 19, 20. they can't handle that stuff. you have to be more coaxing nowadays. There is a gap there when a boy becomes a man, and you're treating these kids like men and they lose their confidence. look at marvin williams, he's finally shining because it takes time

 

[Nobody]

I respectfully disagree with you. Having players going straight to the league has contributed to the shitty play that you see today.

You have players on the NBA floor who do not understand fundamentals. Hell even the NBA organizations realized that and compensated by bringing in more foreign players who supposedly had more "experience, fundamentals, shooting ability". All foreign players did was have PLAYERS on NBA teams that the fans could not get behind........because nobody knew who the fuck these guys were.

Then since you got typically physically weak foreign players, and young players with fundamentals.......inside play and scoring suffers. So what does the league do? In an effort to improve/inflate scoring the league changes the defensive rules... and blow the whistle more. So currently in the league you can't even play fucking defense!

At least now instead of drafting bums like Kwame Brown......... you can at least see if a player can play.............when he actually plays against guys at his own skill level in college.

As opposed to draft a guy based up on POTENTIAL demonstrated via watching him dunk over 5'10 PREP SCHOOL whiteboys in highschool........and thinking he is the next greatest.

What fucks people up, that they don't realize is the change in rules. The zone defense. Also, there was a lull in talent with weak drafts in 200, 01, 02. Tack on the shortage of great Centers, and the influx on europeans in addition to the desire to have bigs play on the perimeter made for boring basketball. They talk about fundamentals and point to euros as having fundamentals, when all it means is that they have more big guys who can shoot from further out. It's not as if the fundamentals they have over american players are dribbling, shooting, defensive fundamentals.

The knock on euros is that they are soft and generally weak defensive players. Compared to american players who shoot less, but are more athletic.

As for your last line, just pure idiocy. These players who come from prep schools to the league often play against the top players in the country, not small whiteboys in high school like you would think. These are the guys who are going to big name colleges. Like I said, there was a lull, and when you think about it, of the guys who came from HS to the pros in the past 7 years, only a few aren't doing well.

Tyson Chandler has come into his own.
Josh Smith has been doing it.
Travis Outlaw is starting to get the handle on it.


Just a couple examples. The fault really falls on GMs, who, 10 years ago draft guys further down out of hs. KG, Kobe, Tmac JO. None of them were top three picks. 3 years ago during the HS craze they all would be top 3 at least. Teams are just so scared to pass up potential they can sometimes pay the price.

But really all that happened was a slight dip in talent. 6, 7 years ago it was KG vs. Duncan, Shaq running amok, and Kobe vs. Carter or McGrady, and the point guard position was VERY thin, with basically Kidd and no one else.

Now you have Nash, Kidd, D. Williams, Chris Paul, Ray Felton
Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Pierce, Allen, Iverson, Anthony
KG, Duncan, Jefferson, Howard,

 

[Marculo]

How is it a problem because they came out early? Can't it just be that sometimes particular players, no matter if they came out early or left after four years in college, just won't put it together?

Kirk Hinrich has regressed, and he played all the way to his senior year in Kansas. Ben Gordon left after his Junior Year.

There are tons of players who have been bums after four years of college. Then look at guys who are the top players in the league. KG, Dwight Howard, Kobe, Lebron all out of high school.

Are you cats familiar with the words experience and learning? If you come out early, you're basically coming to work in the NBA and you don't know how to do your job! I agree there's bums all over the league. But two things, one, they're bums with educations and two, the high school bums don't have shit to fall back on after they get shit on by the league.

IMO, there seems to be no pride in making your team a winner. It's more like cats are about endorsements and less about actually winning any games. That's why I'm proud of Kevin Garnett! Sure he was an early prodigy too, but this cat wanted to win. Like Tim Duncan he was willing to sacrifice his own paycheck just to get better players for his team. What self absorbed child in the league now would do that?

When you hear Barkley, Jordan, and Pippen talking about how these cats couldn't carry their jock straps back in the day, they're not joking. Put a team together of your best individual talents and I'll destroy you with two scorers and a team of great role players. That's why Coach K and UNC are top 5 every year. Not because of raw talent but because they have systems that require kids to learn and execute. Something 90% of the NBA knows shit about.

The deterioration of the NBA is easily remedied with a requirement just like the NFL to have players have a minimum amount of experience before they can come in. Walk ons not included but 18, 19 year olds with high hopes get lost in the shuffle every year in the NBA and everyone says it's ok because it worked for 5 people and another 100 are now lost with no future because the only thing they learned was how to dunk and dress like a wannabe gangsta!

And more than anything, this is the reason you see international players DOMINATING in the NBA. They come into the NBA with experience and team skills, not highlight reel shit that gets you on ESPN once in your career and sitting out of the league the next year because you can't fucking play. Tony Parker is what's gonna be running the league soon. Guys with last name's that end in blah blah-vich and other unpronouncable last names will be the NBA's stars of the future.

The world doesn't respect our talent anymore. That shit died with the dream teams of the past. We came back hard this year but the gap has closed and is getting smaller every day.

You cats need to quit kidding yourself that actually learning your craft doesn't matter anymore.

Playing sports is a skill that along with talent creates superstars. But with 5 skilled players you can take down anybody on any given night. The Kobe and Lebron show sells tickets for a while but winning keeps them in the seats.

 

[DiamondDeuce]

Tyson Chandler has come into his own.
Josh Smith has been doing it.
Travis Outlaw is starting to get the handle on it.

That is my whole point. It has taken each of these guys YEARS to be even decent. Myself as a fan had to watch these guys on the court for years.......as they tried to figure out how to play basketball.

Hell I remember a day when you got drafted in the LOTTERY.......that meant you were ready to START FOR AN NBA TEAM IMMEDIATELY!!!! you were done "developing".

 

[Nobody]

That is my whole point. It has taken each of these guys YEARS to be even decent. Myself as a fan had to watch these guys on the court for years.......as they tried to figure out how to play basketball.

Hell I remember a day when you got drafted in the LOTTERY.......that meant you were ready to START FOR AN NBA TEAM IMMEDIATELY!!!! you were done "developing".

Don't blame guys trying to get paid. That's up to the GMs. If they seclected these guys in the late first round, or even second round where contracts are non guaranteed then it would stop players from jumping too early out of HS.

 

[Nobody]

Are you cats familiar with the words experience and learning? If you come out early, you're basically coming to work in the NBA and you don't know how to do your job! I agree there's bums all over the league. But two things, one, they're bums with educations and two, the high school bums don't have shit to fall back on after they get shit on by the league.

IMO, there seems to be no pride in making your team a winner. It's more like cats are about endorsements and less about actually winning any games. That's why I'm proud of Kevin Garnett! Sure he was an early prodigy too, but this cat wanted to win. Like Tim Duncan he was willing to sacrifice his own paycheck just to get better players for his team. What self absorbed child in the league now would do that?

When you hear Barkley, Jordan, and Pippen talking about how these cats couldn't carry their jock straps back in the day, they're not joking. Put a team together of your best individual talents and I'll destroy you with two scorers and a team of great role players. That's why Coach K and UNC are top 5 every year. Not because of raw talent but because they have systems that require kids to learn and execute. Something 90% of the NBA knows shit about.

The deterioration of the NBA is easily remedied with a requirement just like the NFL to have players have a minimum amount of experience before they can come in. Walk ons not included but 18, 19 year olds with high hopes get lost in the shuffle every year in the NBA and everyone says it's ok because it worked for 5 people and another 100 are now lost with no future because the only thing they learned was how to dunk and dress like a wannabe gangsta!

And more than anything, this is the reason you see international players DOMINATING in the NBA. They come into the NBA with experience and team skills, not highlight reel shit that gets you on ESPN once in your career and sitting out of the league the next year because you can't fucking play. Tony Parker is what's gonna be running the league soon. Guys with last name's that end in blah blah-vich and other unpronouncable last names will be the NBA's stars of the future.

The world doesn't respect our talent anymore. That shit died with the dream teams of the past. We came back hard this year but the gap has closed and is getting smaller every day.

You cats need to quit kidding yourself that actually learning your craft doesn't matter anymore.

Playing sports is a skill that along with talent creates superstars. But with 5 skilled players you can take down anybody on any given night. The Kobe and Lebron show sells tickets for a while but winning keeps them in the seats.

Like I said, it's GMs going nuts over guys. If the opportunity is there you cannot fault anyone for taking it. These HS bums who get to the league, they usually get in in the first round, where they would make enough money to go back to school if needed, and most of them go play ball overseas. Lets not act like anyone who doesn't make it in the NBA ends up bagging groceries. David Stern made the nba a business. Owners started that trend of marketing players. Everyone is going to want to maximize their potential to make money first, get their contract and try and win.

As for this comment "What self absorbed child in the league now would do that? "

AL JEFFERSON. He took less money feeling he didn't deserve so much yet.

Don't compare the NBA and college game. Two different games.

As for an experience or age requirements , you can't compare it to the NFL, which has their age requirement set in stone for safety reasons. They want to make sure players are as physically mature as they can be due to the physical nature of the sport.

And international players dominating? Please. Tell me WHO. Only one cracks the top 10, and that's Dirk. You named Tony Parker, thats two. Manu Ginobili is doing his thing. What international player besides Dirk and the aforementioned are "DOMINATING" Please, name FIVE.

The world doesn't respect the talent? Laughable. The only reason why past US teams haven't done as well is because we haven't been sending our best. To add onto that I think the last olympic team would have done much better had Larry Brown not been a diva and put Lebron, Wade and Anthony on the court over someone like Richard Jefferson.

 

[c_commander]

Damn near every post player drafted in the lottery since Shaq and Mourning with the exception of Tim Duncan has needed development.Potential is always going to be in GM's minds when they make a selection.Josh Howard was drafted after Outlaw and Ndubi Ebi because of perceived potential. But this is nothing new and has been happening for the last 20 years. Rodney White ahead of Joe Johnson is another example. Yet in the same draft Shane Battier was drafted ahead of both. And while it's safe to say that you'd take Battier ahead of White would you take him ahead of Joe Johnson,Gerald Wallace or Gilbert Arenas and Battier is as fundamentally sound as you can get.
There are always going to be busts. Whether you come straight out of high school, played 1 yr. in college, or all 4 yrs. you're going to be drafted on potential. Stacey King,Randy White,Shawn Respert,and Trajan Langdon were all busts. They all played in college for 4 yrs. and it meant nothing.You never know how someone is going to adjust their game for the NBA.

 

[c_commander]

I'll agree with you on most of what you said except this. The reason past U.S. team haven't done well is because we didn't build teams.4 or 5 shooting guards would be on the team and they would all be slashers. So international teams would force us to take the outside shot and the U.S. would be at a disadvantage. Also, when a team has been playing together for 1 month or so it's hard to beat similarly skilled guys who have been playing together for years which is why this team had to agree to a 3 year commitment to prepare for the Olympics.

 

[mariano42]

Thats the problem with these guys coming out early. They haven't learned the game yet. I can't blame em for leaving for the money, but career working wise they aren't ready.

co-sign. most college player leave college their freashman year without further development, because teams and endorsement companies are willing to give them tons of money. thats why we will never see a college superstar, cause cats leave too early.

like durant, he should've stayed atleast an extra year or two.

 

[c_commander]

co-sign. most college player leave college their freashman year without further development, because teams and endorsement companies are willing to give them tons of money. thats why we will never see a college superstar, cause cats leave too early.

like durant, he should've stayed atleast an extra year or two.

Blame the NBA. The way the system is set up the quicker you get in the league the quicker you can get out of your rookie contract and get that payday sometimes solely based on what you might be.Amir Johnson got 11 million because he played well in the D-League and has never averaged even 10 minutes a game in the NBA. Why risk injury when you can get paid and take care of your family sooner.

 

[bigmanfromchi]

He keeps mentioning contracts as if he never bitched or worried about his contract when he played. Hinrich has been guarding bigger players because he's a better defender than Ben Gordon or Chris Duhon. He's also 6-3 so he's tall for a PG. The Bulls have been successsful playing small ball in previous seasons and if they think it's that much of a problem they could start Sefolosha or Deng at the 2.
Thomas didn't play organized ball until his junior year of high school so he still has alot to learn. And other than Thomas and Deng the rest of the Bulls team played at least 3 years of college ball and the likes of Nocioni and Sefolosha have international experience.

I hope they hire him. I would think it's an excellent possibility, since Krause is long gone now and Paxson is the GM. They would obviously be on the same wavelength. They still need to develop an inside game, however.

 

[Chase Bannon]

When you hear Barkley, Jordan, and Pippen talking about how these cats couldn't carry their jock straps back in the day, they're not joking. Put a team together of your best individual talents and I'll destroy you with two scorers and a team of great role players. That's why Coach K and UNC are top 5 every year. Not because of raw talent but because they have systems that require kids to learn and execute. Something 90% of the NBA knows shit about.

I respect the ole school big time. But you give me an Olympic line with J Kidd at Point, Kobe at 2 Lebron at Small Duncan at PF and Shaq at Center. They can hold their own with the ole school. Plus my bench would be Chauncy, Ray Allen, KG, T Mac, Zo.

 

[c_commander]

I respect the ole school big time. But you give me an Olympic line with J Kidd at Point, Kobe at 2 Lebron at Small Duncan at PF and Shaq at Center. They can hold their own with the ole school. Plus my bench would be Chauncy, Ray Allen, KG, T Mac, Zo.

The old school in their prime would beat the young cats. The Dream Team had 10 players capable of taking over the game and they didn't need specialization cause they had great all-around players who could be unselfish. Mullin, Bird, Stockton were all shooters who could just wait for the likes of Jordan, Pippen, Magic to penetrate.Plus Duncan is done playing international ball after the 2004 Olympic fiasco.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Replies after Pip lets it rip
Ex-Bull's critiques make some waves through locker room

By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter

December 31, 2007, 9:05 PM CST

Scottie Pippen's scorched-earth assessment of current Bulls players and his stated desire to coach in the organization spread through the locker room quickly Monday.

"I don't really care what Scottie has to say," Ben Gordon said.

In Monday's Tribune, NBA reporter Sam Smith quoted Pippen offering one of his harsher critiques when dissecting Gordon's game, claiming he selfishly takes bad shots.

"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but it doesn't have anything to do with anything," Gordon said. "When I see him, I say hi out of respect. He's a top-50 player. That's the extent [of our relationship], really."

Pippen also bluntly assessed Kirk Hinrich's game, claiming "you can't have midgets running your backcourt." The two had a strong relationship as teammates during Hinrich's rookie season of 2003-04.

"I always liked Pip, and we got along great," Hinrich said. "I don't think he's ever been afraid to speak his mind, even when he was here. I never felt like it was anything too crazy."

Interim coach Jim Boylan defended his players.

"It's Scottie's opinion," Boylan said. "I don't necessarily agree."

As for Pippen's desire to coach, Boylan took a philosophical approach to any and all possibilities general manager John Paxson considers next off-season. Boylan's interim contract runs through this season.

"Right now I'm standing here," Boylan said. "I've always been someone who wasn't afraid of a challenge. The challenge for me right now is to do a great job and make the Bulls hire me long-term. That's my goal. That's what I'm setting out to do."

Paxson has acknowledged the possibility of adding an assistant to Boylan's staff. Hinrich said Pippen would make a good one, although his public comments could not have sat well with Paxson.

"When he was out there, he was a leader on the floor," Hinrich said. "He was always directing things. I felt like I learned some things from him when he was here."

But players also defended Boylan in light of Pippen's stated desire to be a head coach.

"Give the guy a chance, you know?" Gordon said

 

[Mr. Met]

They'd never reject Jordan's opinion like that.

Fuck Pippen.

 

[Hoodsavior]

How is it a problem because they came out early? Can't it just be that sometimes particular players, no matter if they came out early or left after four years in college, just won't put it together?

Kirk Hinrich has regressed, and he played all the way to his senior year in Kansas. Ben Gordon left after his Junior Year.

There are tons of players who have been bums after four years of college. Then look at guys who are the top players in the league. KG, Dwight Howard, Kobe, Lebron all out of high school.

your point is on-point, but tyrus thomas is TOOOO raw...his game needed molding..hes the guy who jumps high, dunks, blocks shots..thats it...its hard to teach somebody to get better when they makin millions...another year he would of had more post moves..stayin for a junior year he would of been better at those moves...some people have it EARLY, others need to be taught...he seen money and darted...he prolly would of had a better impact earlier for the league if he stayed...its not working so far..hopefully he gets better later in his career...