Injuries Affect Pippen’s Pep In Small Way
He has a bad back, his knees ache and his ankle is the worst of all. The Chicago Bulls even asked him to sit out the Olympics.
“I haven’t been at 100 percent in so long that I don’t know where I’m at right now,” Scottie Pippen said Tuesday on the U.S. Olympic team’s second day of practice. “I wouldn’t say I was under a lot of pressure, but I was asked to sit out.”
Pippen and coach Lenny Wilkens have already discussed the array of injuries, and Pippen may see less playing time than anyone else on the team.
“At this point in time I can’t say how many minutes Scottie will get, but certainly he hasn’t backed off in practice,” Wilkens said. “I asked him how he feels and he said pretty good.
“We’ll watch him very carefully and I’ll be mindful of it, but certainly right now he’s playing as hard as anybody.”
Pippen, who had both knees iced the moment he sat down after practice, denied that he was playing on the Dream Team to fulfill commitments to sponsors. The Chicago Tribune reported that Pippen will earn up to $7.2 million in endorsement money - more than three times his $2.25 million salary for the Bulls.
“Not at all; that has nothing to do with it,” Pippen said. “I felt that I wanted to be a part of it, and I don’t feel I’m so physically banged up that I can’t compete.
“I mean, I finished the season with my ankle bothering me for the last four months, and I continued to play heavy minutes.”
Pippen isn’t the only Dream Teamer who was banged up when playoffs ended.
John Stockton had a hyperextended elbow and a twinge in his hamstring, but he said a month of rest has left him completely fit to play.
“Just wear and tear, bumps and bruises. Rest took care of it,” said Stockton, who refused during the playoffs to admit that anything was wrong.