In December 1997, there were two events in the sports and cultural world that people were most concerned about:
First, the film "Titanic" was released. Its box office was not good in the first week, but afterwards, the film broke the norm, rising weekly on word-of-mouth, gradually creating a movie-going frenzy across America.
This film is likely to break box office records and create a box office miracle.
Soon, the film will also be released in China, unedited.
The few nudity and passion scenes in the movie will leave a deep impression on many teenagers who go to the cinema with their families.
Secondly, from the start of the 1997 season in November, the Portland Trail Blazers went on a winning streak all the way up to Christmas, achieving an astonishing 27-game winning streak, just six games short of the Lakers’ historical record of 33 consecutive wins.
If they can defeat the Chicago Bulls in the Christmas Day game on December 25th, the record of 33 consecutive wins will beckon to them.
Because besides the Chicago Bulls, the league doesn’t see anyone who can stop the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan.
However, on December 25th, in the Christmas Day game, the home-playing Chicago Bulls were not in particularly good form.
They were going through a difficult season.
After winning the two-time championship in 1997, the Bulls were aiming for a three-peat to establish their dynasty status, but since summer, the Bulls were rife with internal conflicts.
First, Jerry Krause explicitly renewed Phil Jackson’s contract for only one year, making the 1997-1998 season Jackson’s last with the Bulls.
Krause could not wait to prove that the Bulls’ success was mainly due to the management’s operations, not the efforts of the coaches and players.
In an interview with reporters, Krause bluntly stated: "The credit for the championship mainly goes to the management’s operations; without my drafts and signings, the Bulls could not have built such a strong team."
Krause’s remarks greatly exacerbated the conflicts between the coaches, players, and management.
At this time, owner Reinsdorf beautifully hid, staying behind the scenes as the good guy, while secretly fueling the escalation of conflicts.
The most obvious example being the refusal to offer Scottie Pippen a big contract.
Since signing that cheap long-term contract in 1991, Pippen had truly been working like a horse for the Bulls these years.
Earning only one-third of the salary of stars at the same level, he was doing the most work on the court, handling both offense and defense.
From the 1991 season to 1997, over 7 seasons, Pippen missed only 17 games; one might call him an iron man.
The 1997-1998 season marked the end of Pippen’s horse-and-cow contract, and he was only 30 years old, at his peak.
Pippen had contributed so much to the Bulls, winning three championships, yet earning so little money; of course, he wanted a big contract with a yearly salary in the millions.
However, Krause remained silent about the renewal, responding to Pippen’s urging with "Let’s talk when the contract expires."
In September, Krause sent a message to Pippen, asking him to participate in a commercial game.
If Pippen didn’t play, the Bulls would fine him, a move that completely angered Pippen.
So, Pippen chose to have surgery on his left foot in October when the training camp was about to start, treating the injury from last season.
The successful surgery meant Pippen would miss November and December games after the season started, angering the Bulls management.
Jerry Krause believed Pippen did it on purpose; Pippen could have had surgery right after the finals in July, using the summer to recuperate, so he could be on the court at the start of the season.
Yet, Pippen insisted on delaying the surgery until October, deliberately missing two months of games, causing the team a considerable inconvenience.
On the day of the Christmas Day game against the Trail Blazers, Pippen still could only watch from the sidelines, significantly weakening the Bulls’ power.
Moreover, the conflict between Pippen and the Bulls management had become public; the situation between him and Jerry Krause had become irreconcilable.
On November 1st, at the Bulls’ season-opening home game, a championship ring ceremony was held, and Pippen made a speech after receiving the ring.
He choked up and said: "Thank you to the city’s fans for all the passion and support shown to me and my teammates over the long ten seasons; I enjoyed a wonderful career here, and before I ever lose the chance to say this, I must say thank you to you."
Pippen’s words clearly indicated that this would be his last season with the Chicago Bulls, determined to leave after the play.
Before the later game against the Clippers, Pippen gave an interview to the Daily Pioneer, telling a reporter: "I will not play for the Chicago Bulls anymore; I want to go to a place where I can get enough reward."
Initially, the reporter didn’t believe this, so he omitted these words when publishing the newspaper the next day.
Thinking it was Pippen’s joke, the reporter didn’t want to set himself on fire, that since the Chicago Bulls had a revered status.
If such content was published, the team and fans might question, and if Pippen said "I never said that," things could get troublesome.
But this time, Pippen was serious; a few days later, Pippen met the same accompanying reporter in Sacramento and said the same words.
This time, the reporter knew Pippen wasn’t joking; the conflicts between him and the Bulls couldn’t be hidden anymore, he was using the media to apply pressure to the Bulls management.
Thus, rumors of Pippen’s departure from the Bulls in the next season spread throughout the league.
Rumors began to circulate that the Bulls would be trading with the San Antonio Spurs, sending out Pippen and receiving future draft rights and young players from the Spurs.