Revisiting The Trade that almost made Scottie Pippen a Celtic

On draft night in 1997, a historic trade almost occurred. One that would have drastically altered Bulls history, and marginally affected Celtics history.

Nowadays, merely hearing Rick Pitino’s name gives Celtics fans ulcers. His time in Boston was the unequivocal rock bottom for the otherwise storied Franchise. He’s simply the antithesis to Celtics Pride.

However, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, he was seen as the potential savior of the Boston Celtics, capable of resuscitating Celtics Pride – which had waned following the death of Reggie Lewis and demise of the Big Three-era.

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Pitino took the job of Celtics Coach/GM/President/Dictator in the spring of 1997, just prior to the NBA draft lottery. ’97 looked especially promising for Celtics fans; In addition to acquiring the 1996 NCAA Championship-winning coach, the Celtics were primed to enter the 1997 NBA Draft with two extremely valuable lottery picks.

While two lottery picks in the same draft are usually enough to drastically improve a team, this draft was considerably special. The consensus top-overall pick was Tim Duncan and the Celtics – thanks to the legendary tank job performed by M.L. Carr in 1996 – had the best odds of landing him with the first pick. Years later, Pitino would confirm that it was the prospect of coaching Duncan that had enticed him to join the Celtics. At Kentucky he had coached against Duncan’s Wake Forest, where he saw first-hand how transcendent of a player the young Duncan already was.

The ping-pong ball wouldn’t fall in Boston’s favor on the night of the ’97 lottery. The Spurs would end up with the number one overall pick, while the Celtics left that night with the sixth and the third overall picks. Rick Pitino’s NBA aspirations had hit its first snag. The night’s misfortune had rendered their picks expendable – as long as it netted the Celtics a superstar in return. Pitino would scramble in the coming weeks to find a way to bring a star to Boston. This was his chance to revive the Boston Celtics.

Meanwhile, another team – in a position paradoxical to the Celtics’ – began toying with the idea of rebuilding.

During the 1986 playoffs, Jerry Reinsdorf and Jerry Krause, from their first row seats, watched Michael Jordan drop 63 points on the Celtics. It wasn’t enough, though. The Celtics swept the Bulls that year. After ousting Chicago, Boston continued onto win the NBA Championship. This 1986 Celtics team has since become widely regarded as one of the best teams of all-time. However, that 1986 Championship would be the Big Three’s last championship despite remaining intact until 1992.

By 1997, Reinsdorf, the Bulls owner, and GM, Krause, sat atop the world and looked down observing how far the once-mighty Celtics had fallen. They recognized Boston’s dark years had occurre as a result of Boston’s front office committing to the Big Three for far too long. As a result, Reinsdorf and Krause grew worrisome and feared their Bulls would experience this same hangover following the imminent (second) retirement of Michael Jordan.

Krause had therefore made Scottie Pippen quietly available, despite Jordan and Phil Jackson’s assurance they’d retire immediately if the front office disbanded the core.

On June 25th 1995 – the morning of the NBA Draft – both the New York Times and Chicago Tribune reported the possibility of a Pippen-to-Celtics trade. The Bulls supposedly asked for both the Celtics’ picks (3rd and 6th), or a prospect (Antoine Walker or Eric Williams) and the third pick. The Bulls were hoping to draft either Utah Forward, Keith Van Horn; Kentucky Guard, Ron Mercer (feels better knowing a team actually valued him higher than us); or Tracy McGrady. For whatever reason, the trade never happened – probably for the best for ~~both teams~~ the Bulls.

The Bulls would go onto win the NBA Championship and complete their second three-peat. The most famous play of all-time would’ve likely never happened if the trade was executed. Of course, I’m referring to this play:

The Celtics would have probably fared-off no better with the 31-year-old Pippen. His post-Bulls career saw zero All-Star games and zero seasons of +15 PPG. Therefore, I don’t fault Pitino for not accepting this trade (if it was ever offered). At the time, Pitino’s selections in the ’97 draft weren’t considered bone-headed. Chauncey Billups would of course become an All-Star and Ron Mercer actually was highly-touted entering the draft. It was Pitino’s behavior, demeanor and later transactions that later infuriated Celtics fans.

The Bulls still had their inevitable post-dynasty hangover, which – arguably – continues to this day.

Next: Regarding Brooklyn's 2016 First-Rounder

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