The National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls have brought back a star from the past to try to help the once-storied team build for the future.
Scottie Pippen is back in Chicago, winding down a near certain Hall of Fame career that includes six championships with the Bulls, more than any active player in the league. Pippen has never missed the playoffs, while Chicago has not been to the postseason since 1998.
One of those streaks will end this year, and Bulls general Manager John Paxson believes Pippen can help Chicago return to the playoffs. But now, instead of being the leading player in Michael Jordan's supporting cast, Pippen is expected to provide the leadership and guidance to a group of talented young teammates trying to reach the playoffs for the first time since the franchise's six championships in the 1990's. The 38-year-old Pippen signed a two-year deal worth $10 million, hoping to help the young players who grew up watching him team with Jordan develop and get better. He says he will be verbal, but that he is not in Chicago to take over and say it is his team. Since Pippen left five seasons ago, the Bulls have gone 96-282, the worst record in the NBA during that span.