Saturday Slam: The Chicago Bulls should have gone for a 7th title

(Photo: Jack Smith, AP)

Upon finishing The Last Dance, one of the burning questions that remains is whether or not the Chicago Bulls should have gone for a 7th title. Jerry Krause, who was the general manager of the Bulls during their dominant run created a lot of tension between the players and the front office, especially during their final year together. What created so much tension was the fact that the players all knew that the 1997-98 season would be the last year that they would be together. If you watched the 10 part ESPN documentary, you would know that the name "The Last Dance" comes from the nickname that head coach Phil Jackson gave to that season.

They knew this would be their last time together because of Krause and his desire to begin the rebuilding process. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson all would have preferred to give it another go after they won their 6th title. If it was up to them, they would have all come back and chased a 7th title.

While every dynasty must come to an end and front offices need to think about the future, it's odd that Krause was so quick to shut the door on a run for a 7th title. Hell, Krause told Jackson before the season started that he could go 82-0 and he still wouldn't be back. Regardless of how successful the 1997-98 season was to be, it was to be the last that Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen would all be together.

What makes it odd is the fact that the Bulls were still kicking butt. They were just two seasons removed from their historic 72-10 season. While there were some signs of them slowing down a bit, they were still the best team in the NBA. We've often seen players choose on their own to walk away when they're at their peak, but it's another thing for an organization to do so. Especially when that organization historically hasn't been very good.

Before Michael Jordan came onto the scene, the Bulls were not a very good team. They were mediocre to bad. They were the least popular team in Chicago and there was very little buzz around them. The arrival of Jordan changed that, turning them into a franchise that gets mentioned in the same sentence as the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. For them to think that it was totally cool to prematurely end Jordan's run was ludicrous and to this day has proven to be a mistake.

Since Jordan's retirement, the Bulls haven't come close to sniffing another NBA championship. The Derrick Rose era was a little exciting, but fleeting. The Bulls are back to being a bad franchise and there is no sign of them changing course anytime soon.

Going back to the 1997-98 season, considering the success that they were having, the Bulls should have at least remained open to the possibility of one more go with Phil and the gang. When you have such a good thing going, why not ride it out and see how far that wave can take you? 

What makes it all the more difficult to justify the early disbandment is the fact that the 1998-99 season was a lockout year in which only 50 regular season games were played. Jordan and Pippen would have gotten some extra time to rest up and that may have made the difference in their quest for a 7th title. On top of that, the 8th seeded New York Knicks won the Eastern Conference crown. It's hard to think that Jordan and Pippen wouldn't have disposed of them rather easily. As for who they would have met in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs proved to be a great dynasty in their own right, but at the time, they were sort of the new kids on the block with Tim Duncan leading the way. In hindsight, one would have to pick the veteran Bulls to snatch one from the Spurs, giving Jordan seven rings and Duncan four.

Now, I don't think the Bulls would have won an eighth title had they come back in the 1999-2000 season given the emergence of the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. The Bulls would have had no answer for Shaq inside and with even more mileage on them, it's fair to wonder if that series would have even been much of a fight. Still, it is fun to think about Jordan's Bulls going up against Shaq and Kobe's Lakers. I mean, had the Bulls actually won, that would have put the Jordan/Kobe debates to rest, right?

To wrap this all up, I think it's clear that the Chicago Bulls should have gone for a 7th title. They had the greatest player of all-time, perhaps the greatest coach of all-time, and would have had a shortened season to give them an edge. Perhaps all things do happen for a reason and that it's fitting things ended the way that they did, but all the same, it does feel like this team had one more dance in them.

To connect with NBA Lord on Twitter, click here.

To connect with NBA Lord on Facebook, click here.

To connect with Ben Parker, click here.

Saturday Slam: How should the 2020 NBA champion be viewed?

The 2019-20 NBA season is tentatively scheduled to resume on July 31st with an NBA Finals ending on October 12th at the latest. The NBA Draft will be October 15th, free agency will start October 18th, 2020-21 training camp November 10th, and the 2020-21 season starting December 1st. These dates are per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The rest of the season is tentatively set to be played at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. All 16 current NBA playoff teams plus six additional teams that are within six games of the final playoff spot in their conference will make up a 22 team field. There is some discussion about what the other eight teams that aren't invited will be doing. At the moment, nothing is planned, but it is possible that they get allowed to do some joint workouts together or form their own summer league kinda thing. For more details on what the rest of the season will look like, click here.

The big question that I think is yet to be addressed much is how should the 2020 NBA champion be viewed? It's a unique season in that the champion will be determined at a neutral site location. Home court advantage won't be a factor. This of course means that lower seeded teams gain an advantage while higher seeded teams are put at a disadvantage. There is some discussion of giving higher seeds other advantages like an extra challenge or an extra foul for their best player, but let's be real, nothing the league can do can make up for home court advantage. Probably the best thing the league can do is give the higher seed a three point advantage in each game or something like that. But that would still feel kinda weird and artificial.

Personally, I think there's no way around the fact that there will be somewhat of an asterisk next to whatever team wins the 2020 NBA championship. Especially if it's a team that comes out of nowhere to win it. I think if one of the higher seeded teams wins it, there will be less of an asterisk, but if a five or six seeded team wins the title, there will be a greater asterisk for sure. I don't think it's totally fair as the playoffs will be played in a traditional best-of-seven format all the way through, but it is what it is.

On the flip side, one could argue that winning in this format and season is even harder and that it will require an even greater mental fortitude. Everyone is given the same set of challenges and whichever team prevails certainly will deserve credit. There also won't be the stink of home cooking from officials, so that in a way will make the games feel more legitimate.

Also, the NBA has had champions in unusual seasons before. The 1998-99 lockout season was a 50 game season in which the top seeded Western Conference team San Antonio Spurs defeated the eighth seeded Eastern Conference team New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. One could just as easily put an asterisk next to the Spurs' 1999 championship. At the time, I think there was some discussion about that, but as time has gone on, that championship has been viewed as legitimate. I think in part because of the fact that the Spurs went on to win four more NBA championships.

I think when it comes to how the 2020 NBA champion will be judged, I think a lot of it will come down to which team wins it and how that team does in subsequent seasons. If say the Milwaukee Bucks win the title and go on to win a few more afterwards with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the helm, I think the 2020 NBA champion will be still be remembered as an oddity, but there won't be much of an asterisk if any next to their name. If instead, a team like the Indiana Pacers shock the world, odds are greater there will be more scrutiny.

Regardless of how the 2020 NBA champion will be viewed, I think it's safe to say that this season will be one to remember and hopefully the most unique season in league history. While I do think odds are high that there will be at least a tiny asterisk next to the champion, I really don't think there should be one. Winning an NBA championship is not easy and if you are able to survive that grind and get across that finish line, you deserve to be remembered as a champion no matter how you got the job done.

To connect with NBA Lord on Twitter, click here. 

To connect with NBA Lord on Facebook, click here. 

To connect with Ben Parker, click here.