Chapter 837: Chapter 36: Cheap Contract
Ah Gan has always been a nightmare haunting many players’ minds, and I admit that several times my mentality collapsed because of Ah Gan.
He targeted me a lot, but later I knew it was because he valued me, and in fact, it was a form of recognition.
However, the younger me was very frustrated by this, and I believe that many of my subsequent choices were related to that missed free throw.
Years later, I kept thinking, if I had made that free throw, would everything have changed?
I shouldn’t have been so hasty at the time.]
————Published in 2021, an excerpt from Scottie Pippen’s autobiography "Unguarded".
After returning to the locker room, Pippen saw Jordan sitting at his spot, covered in heat like a volcano about to erupt.
Pippen wanted to say something, but eventually he didn’t, he wanted to apologize, but he felt it shouldn’t have been his fault alone for losing the game.
If the Trail Blazers hadn’t double-teamed Ah Gan on the last offense, Petrović wouldn’t have had the chance to shoot.
An apology from Pippen would mean admitting that the game was lost because of his free throw.
He silently headed to his own locker room, and then Jordan suddenly reached out his fist to Pippen, signalling a fist bump.
Pippen was momentarily stunned, then also extended his fist, the two fists bumped, and the atmosphere suddenly eased.
Following that, Jordan went out to face the press.
Jordan and Ah Gan both scored 50 points again, which was big news.
Sometimes the outcome becomes irrelevant, and the spotlight falls on these two superstars.
Pippen silently took off his jersey, declined interviews with reporters, and went into the showers.
The warm water hit his body, he tried to calm himself, but it was still hard to let go of the upset.
The recent kind gesture from Jordan made him feel better, and lately their relationship had become closer than before.
Apart from drifting away from Grant, it was mainly because Pippen’s on-court performance had improved significantly.
Every practice involved a one-on-one match between the two, with Pippen’s skills honed under Jordan’s pressure.
Moreover, Pippen might not even realize one thing: he was becoming more and more like Jordan.
Whether in playing style or general demeanor, Pippen was emulating Jordan, who in turn was influencing Pippen.
In some games, Pippen even played very much like the old Jordan, going at it alone with the ball, refusing to pass to his teammates.
The reason is simple, Pippen needed stats, he craved the numbers, as he needed to prove his worth to land a big contract.
The contract issue had been troubling Pippen since the summer of 1990, as he continuously negotiated with the Bulls management, hoping for an early renewal and a substantial contract.
Especially when he saw more and more players, inferior to him, getting enticing deals, and then looked at himself: during the 1990-1991 season, Pippen earned 760,000 US Dollars a year, ranked sixth in the Bulls.
Pippen’s backup, Dennis Hopson, averaging 4 points and barely getting much playtime, earned 900,000 US Dollars that year.
Stacey King, who was traded to the Nets, had a contract worth 1 million US Dollars, and Livingston, signed by the Summer Bulls, was 750,000 US Dollars a year.
This was within the Bulls; looking at other teams, the likes of Sabonis, Petrović, and other foreign players were getting million-dollar annual salaries; Pippen thought the Trail Blazers were indeed wealthy.
Not to mention Ah Gan, Ewing, Olajuwon, Lewis, who were making several million a year with sufficient contract lengths, not needing to worry about money and could just focus on playing the game.
Pippen had a large family to support, and due to divorce, he had to pay alimony, plus many other extra expenses; he was desperate for money.
But precisely because he was in need, he desperately wanted a new contract, which made the Chicago Bulls all the less urgent.
The most critical issue was that Pippen’s contract wasn’t up yet, giving him no leverage to negotiate with the Bulls.
In his rookie season in 1987, he signed a six-year deal with the Bulls, averaging 700,000 US Dollars a year in salary.
If Gan Guoyang were Pippen’s friend, he would definitely not suggest a six-year deal.
But Pippen was too insecure about himself, and his family’s financial situation was indeed tough, responsible for supporting 11 people, including a father with a disability.
For someone who grew up poor, 700,000 US Dollars a year was an astronomical sum, and he didn’t know how long he could survive in the NBA, for how many years he would be able to play, or if he would be eliminated, given that the average NBA career is quite short.
Therefore, Pippen miscalculated his potential and Jerry Krause tied him down with a six-year cheap contract.
By the time Pippen realized his value and saw the entire NBA’s steady salary increase, the player wages soared, and this six-year contract no longer looked princely but rather like a bargain.
Playing in each game, Pippen felt as if he was working for free, especially when he could put on an All-Star performance but only earned less than a bench player.
With the contract in black and white, Pippen had no way to break it, only hoping the Bulls would renew it early, but he had no means of retaliation.
The cunning Jerry Krause refused to renew Pippen’s contract during the off-season, stating that Pippen should use his own performance to win his contract amount and length.
Pippen was very anxious, all season long he was wrapped in fear, he had to play well to stand a chance of getting a big contract.
