>The next season was the lockout* 50 game season
>
>REALLY think that would’ve worked to their advantage
>
>The next 2 years, after the last dance, the Pacers were the
>best team in the East
>
>MJ pwned Reggie, and I think they make it to the finals with
>relative ease
>
>You also keep Feel off the LAL
>
>I don’t think they 3peat w/o Feel in LA given that soap
>opera
>
>The bulls roster did fluctuate
>
>But it felt like the players were periodically turned over for
>similar players
>
>IMO, keeping Scottie, Feel and MJ on the bulls results in 2
>more rings
>
>Eventually, the SAS and LAL do breakthrough
>
>*it can’t be coincidence that the lockout season followed
>the last dance
>
>This was a very public dispute between management and players
>over money
>
>I wonder how much of a factor, watching arguably the 2 best
>players in the league fight tooth and nail with their
>organization for assumedly deserved money, I wonder how much
>that factored into the lockout
>
>Other players must have been thinking, if Scottie and MJ
>can’t get paid...the fuck am I gonna do

This is powerful. I agree about the Bulls being at the forefront of the labor dispute. Sadly, it makes sense back then because the front offices in most leagues weren't understanding what was happening. Those suited mfers still thought they were running things!

Ultimately, the NBA created a monster with how the league was viewed as a 'individual stars' and highlights league. You can't be selling jerseys, shoes, and stars on ESPN and other networks and then have mfin Scottie Pippen not being in the top 100 paid players.

David Stern should've run up on the Bulls front office and said 'hey now, get Pippen some more money. You can't have Jorn making 30 million and Scottie making less than 3 right there by him'. The 'you signed the deal, now live with it' plan backfired something terrible. And now we have dudes who haven't and won't ever win jack making 35 million a year in the same league. Yikes.