"No place could be worse than here," the Chicago Bulls forward said Wednesday night before the Bulls routed the Philadelphia 76ers 115-77. Pippen, widely considered one of the five best players in the National Basketball Association, has made no secret lately of his distaste for Bulls management, especially for general manager Jerry Krause.
Just two weeks ago he called Krause a liar, and said Krause was allowing the team to deteriorate by letting power forward Horace Grant leave for Orlando as a free agent.
Pippen had never demanded to be traded. But Wednesay night he said, "Trade me or Krause.''
He didn't get much encouragement from Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who dismissed reports Thursday night that he had been contacting other teams.
Asked if the Bulls might trade Pippen, he replied, "Maybe.
"I mean, there's certainly nothing imminent,'' Reinsdorf told WGN-TV. "But every player, with the exception of Michael Jordan, is tradeable. So maybe next week, or next month or next year, Scottie might be traded. But we don't have any deal or discussions going on with anybody right now."
Pippen leads the Bulls in all major statistical categories, but his salary is not among the top 40 in the NBA. He's the fourth-highest paid player on his team, having signed a five-year, $18 million extension in 1991. Pippen, 29, won't become a free agent until he is 32, during the 1997-98 season.
Pippen said his ire stems from a lack of respect and appreciation.
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Spurs 113, Heat 108. Sean Elliott's 32 points and Vinny Del Negro's 27 -- both season highs -- made up for the absence of David Robinson as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 113-108 Thursday night.
The Spurs won their sixth-straight, and 13th in their last 14 games, with leading scorer Robinson out with a muscle strain in his lower back. The center's status is listed as day-to-day.
Avery Johnson added 17 points and 10 assists, and Dennis Rodman had 11 points and a season-high 22 rebounds.
Kevin Willis paced Miami with 30 points before being ejected with 3:49 left after elbowing Rodman while scrambling for a rebound.
Nuggets 94, Mavericks 78. In Denver, Rodney Rogers scored 16 points, and Dikembe Mutombo had 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots, leading the Nuggets over the cold-shooting Dallas Mavericks.
The Nuggets also got 13 points apiece from Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and rookie Jalen Rose.
Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn led Dallas with 15 points each, but the NBA's fourth- and fifth-leading scorers shot just 5-of-14 and 6-of-21 as the Mavs finished at 37 percent.
Cavaliers 107, Suns 96. In Phoenix, Terrell Brandon scorched Phoenix with a career-high 30 points, and Chris Mills blocked three shots in 1:21 of the pivotal third quarter as the Cavaliers beat the Suns. It was only the second home loss in 18 games for the Suns, who had the NBA's second-best home record.
Tyrone Hill, ejected for getting his second technical with 1:53 left, had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland.
Danny Manning scored a season-high 33 points for Phoenix, and Charles Barkley had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
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