Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles never tried to trade for Scottie Pippen

Recent Lakers rumors have been about a potential deal that would have brought Scottie Pippen to the Lakers two decades ago.

As we wait for the NBA season to resume, recent Lakers rumors have been about a potential acquisition that would have created a Big 3 in Los Angeles right around when the team had their three-peat.

After the Last Dance documentary, there has been a lot of talk about Scottie Pippen’s career after the Chicago Bulls. As on the best players of all-time, Pippen was traded from the Bulls and then bounced around a little bit.

First, Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets to team up with Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. This was a fantastic pairing of three stars, but they might have all just been a tad past their prime.

Pippen was then traded from the Rockets to the Portland Trail Blazers. However, recent rumors are that he asked to be traded to the Lakers. Recently, Jerry West spoke with The Athletic about the potential acquisition of Pippen at the time. He shot those rumors down rather quickly and said that a deal was never close. You can read the entire article with a paid subscription to The Athletic.

Despite being in his mid-30s, Pippen still had a good amount left in the tank at this point. For him, being traded to the Lakers would have resulted in a great Big 3 with him, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal. Also, it would have meant playing with Phil Jackson once again.

However, it doesn’t seem like he was ever close to being on the Lakers according to West. Pippen went on to be traded from the Rockets to the Trail Blazers, and unfortunately for Pippen, he ran into those Lakers in the playoffs.

Looking back, it is always fun to think about “what if”. For Pippen, he certainly would have loved to be on those Lakers team that won three championships in a row. However, the Lakers were fine without him.