Any local media member who covered the Bulls during the second three-peat probably feels more than a little jealous of the NBA Entertainment crew that was given unprecedented access to the players, coaches and staff during that last dance season.
When the Bulls moved into the Berto Center in the early ’90s, one of the prominent features was a large plastic curtain that covered the media’s view of the practice court. Phil Jackson used to take pleasure in pushing the button to lower the curtain before the start of practice, and reporters would wait patiently until the curtain went up a couple hours later signaling the end of practice.
And, by the time the media was given the OK to enter the practice court area, most of the starters were usually long gone while a few reserves shot free throws. The stated policy was for all the players to walk past the media on their way to the training room or locker room and make themselves available for interviews. But by the 1997-98 season, most of the rotation guys would take a circuitous route behind the training room and over to the weight training area. From there, media access was prevented by a 20 foot curtain that blocked the hallway between the weight area and locker room.
Many of the players would take great delight in poking their heads out from behind the curtain with big smiles on their faces, and then disappear quickly to the sanctity of the locker room. Occasionally, one of the key players would come out to answer some questions, but on most practice days it was a steady diet of Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington and Jud Buechler interviews, with an occasional Luc Longley or Randy Brown thrown in.
Dennis Rodman almost never did interviews on practice days, but one day during the 1996-97 season, I was able to get him to come out from behind the giant barrier by letting him know that his nemesis in San Antonio, Gregg Popovich, had just taken over as the Spurs’ head coach. Former coach Bob Hill had been relieved of his duties after a 3-15 start to the season.
RELATED: NBC Sports Chicago to replay 1998 Bulls' NBA Playoffs run and championship (ECF Game 3, Bulls-Pacers, Friday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago)
In case you didn’t know, Popovich actually started off in the front office in San Antonio, and was the man behind the trade that sent Rodman to Chicago in the summer of 1995. So, when The Worm found out that Popovich was taking over as head coach, he had plenty to say.
Rodman’s two seasons in San Antonio were marked by his sudden love of tattoos, piercings and hair dye, as well as his almost outright rebellion to any structure. Rodman would take his shoes off when he came out of games and spread himself out along the baseline, seemingly disinterested in what was going on with his teammates on the court.
Even the mild-mannered David Robinson had seen enough of Rodman’s act before he was traded to Chicago. Still, in his inimitable way, Rodman blamed the disconnect on Popovich, saying the Spurs’ GM didn’t appreciate him and was trying to make him conform to a structure he wouldn’t accept.
Rodman opined that Popovich would struggle as a coach because he didn’t know how to get along with players and was too much of a control freak. Well, five championships and over 1,200 wins later, Dennis might want a do-over on that opinion.
Still, that’s another reason why Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen deserve so much credit for getting the best out of Rodman by accepting his off-court theatrics and making him feel like a valued performer on the most popular team in professional sports at the time. Had he continued on the path he was on in San Antonio, Rodman might have been out of the league instead of winning three more championships with the Bulls.
As for the Spurs, they would finish 20-62 in that 1996-97 season with Robinson limited to just six games because of back and foot injuries. San Antonio wound up winning the draft lottery in 1997, allowing them to draft perhaps the best power forward in NBA history, Tim Duncan, and a new powerhouse was born.
And while my long-time Bulls pre and postgame partner Will Perdue would pick up his fourth championship ring playing for Pop and the Spurs during the lockout-shortened 1999 season, the trade for Dennis Rodman turned out to be one of the best deals Jerry Krause ever made.
Through May 15, NBC Sports Chicago is airing every 1998 Chicago Bulls NBA Playoff game (21 total). Find the full schedule here.
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