Pulling a Pippen

If Scottie Pippen cares at all about his legacy as an NBA player, he should retire today. Preferably, yesterday. Every hour that goes by sees his reputation continue to shrink. Do you think the cover has been blown on this guy by now? Is the jig up? Have we seen enough?

In a word, Scottie Pippen is the ultimate sports "Pippen." After all, his career inspired the term above, why not name it after him? It is my fondest hope that years from now, sportswriters, fans, players, GM's and announcers are making liberal use of my term to "pippen."

I can hear the announcers now...

"Well Jim, he got off to such a good start to his career, but after taking that $945 million dollar free agent deal, he just kind of pippened-out." Or….. "They really need him in this Game 7 Bill, but he seems to be pulling a pippen right now."

Like a successful TV show that tries to spin itself off with a second tier character as the star, Scottie Pippen is at the point of embarrassing himself. His reputation (and actual nomination) as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players which he never really earned playing as Michael Jordan's wing-mate, is in serious jeopardy.

Before Houston signed him to that ridiculous $13 million a season deal, and before Portland traded for him the next year, somebody should have asked the simple question: "What makes him so good without Michael?" Just like somebody should have spoken up at ABC when they thought it would be a good idea to give the character "Fish" from Barney Miller his own gig. Two short seasons of Abe Vigoda trying to bring home the laughs and it was all she wrote for "Fish."

By now, the verdict is clearly in on Scottie as "the man." It doesn't work. Not in Chicago with all of Michael's supporting cast in place while he chased curve balls in the minors. Not in Houston with Barkley and Hakeem. Not in Portland with the best roster money can buy. Last year was a classic "Pippen." With he team leading the Lakes by 15 with 10 minutes to play, Scottie couldn't bring the ship in to port. He couldn't hit the shots, he couldn't calm his team's nerves, he couldn't make the plays. The Blazers were 50 feet from the dock and Scottie drove them into the pier and sunk them like the Titanic.

But to be fair (or at least try) to "Mr. 1.8" (the infamous Kukoc game) he's not the only one in sports who has "pulled a Pippen" in their careers. Some guys, playing next to a Hall of Famer, start looking really good and begin to think they are the organ grinder, and not the chimp. Right now in hockey, Jaromir Jagr is the ultimate "Pippen" when compared to Lemieux. See too Ricky Watters after leaving the 49ers. Or Alvin Harper after getting out of Michael Irvin's shadow. Or Bobby Bonilla when he parted ways with Barry Bonds.

Some guys are smart, and they know that sometimes the best move is to hang tight and accept their role as a "Pippen." James Worthy was a classic case. A devastating slasher/finisher/compliment to Magic, he never looked to get out of town and make himself "the man." We know how that would have worked out. John Taylor did the same while running opposite Jerry Rice.

It's not just that Pippen's offensive production has fallen off the map since he and Michael broke up (see chart), it's that he still acts and talks like he's a leader! Ha! Scottie Pippen will lead a team to a championship right after John Rocker leads a Gay Rights parade in downtown Greenwich Village.

The good news for Portland is that Michael Jordan's comeback might just inspire him to "get the band back together" one more time, and relieve the Blazers of their "1 point-per-million" headache. The bad news is, that seems to be their only hope. Pippen's contract doesn't run out until the summer of '03 and by then, who knows if the league will come looking for that spiffy leather jacket they gave him as one of the "50 Greatest" in league history.