What was the gift that Scottie Pippen received in 1999 by Bulls GM Jerry Krause?

One of the most underpaid players in the league history, Scottie Pippen, who had aided Michael Jordan and the Bulls to win six NBA titles, mostly in his tenure with the team he would make less money than he deserved. Finally in January 1999, then Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause had a ‘’gift’’ for Pippen, and that was a deal that would secure a bigger salary for Pippen. Krause decided to work on a sign-and-trade that would send Pippen to the Houston Rockets to join forces with superstars Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley.

In an episode of the documentary ‘’The Last Dance’’ that was recently aired on ESPN, Bulls GM Jerry Krause narrated how he remembered Pippen’s departure. Here is what he said:

‘’In January, when the league was about to resume and free agents could be signed, Pippen’s agents asked us to do Scottie a favor. By doing a sign-and-trade with Houston, Scottie could get more than $20 million more than he could by just signing a straight-out contract. Jerry and I gave him his going-away present. I called Steve and Jud and told them the situation and to take the first good contract they could because we were not going to bid for them. They deserved it.’’

Through this sign-and-trade, the Bulls received Roy Rogers and a second-round pick from the Rockets. To make this deal work in favor of Pippen, he had to sign a five-year $67-million dollars deal while he was the Bulls and then get traded to the Rockets — otherwise, he would sign a four-year deal with $45 million dollars maximum if he had signed directly with his new team.

He spent only one season with the Rockets, averaging 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. It was a very disappointing season as they got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Then, public contradistinction with Charles Barkley during that offseason was enough to trade him to Portland. Just take into account that Barkley, during the previous offseason, had signed a cheaper contract so the team could bring Pippen to Houston at his maximum salary.

Eventually, after back surgery in July 1998, Pippen’s efficiency wasn’t the same.