Switch Pippen for Barkley. How many Championships do the Bulls win?

[oarabbus]

I'm thinking 7.

[Myth]

I think Pippen was a better complimentary piece next to Jordan, especially since the Bulls also had good power forwards as it was. I don't think they win more, but they may still pull off 6.

[Nikola_]

lucky if they win one.

[OldSchoolBBall]

6-7 rings. They win in '89-'93 and '96 with an outside shot at '97 depending on who the other pieces are,

[eliteballer]

Hard to say, you're changing the identity of the team.

No one could compete with the combination of Jordan and Pippen hounding teams on the perimeter.

[kshutts1]

Barkley may have been a better individual talent than Pippen; I certainly rank him more highly.

That said, the fit, as others have mentioned, is not likely to be as effective.

[Soundwave]

I don't see the '91 Lakers, '92 Blazers, '93 Suns (errr ... '93 Sonics?), '96 Sonics, '97 or '98 Jazz winning with Barkley in lieu of Pippen. Nor do I see the Knicks or Pacers being able to beat the Bulls in any of those corresponding years.

So six at least.

Maaaaaaybe they win in 1990 too ... Barkley was a superstar at that time, Pippen was not quite at that level yet. Barkley was 25/12 player in 1990, Pippen was 17/7 They took the eventual champs Detroit to game 7 anyway, not a stretch to say if you replace Pippen with Barkley they could win that year too.

I don't think the Pistons Bad Boy tactics would've worked with Jordan + Barkley, they stopped working by 1991 anyway as Pippen's game got better.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Without Pippen's defense (he and Mike were regarded as the best backcourt not just on offense, but on defense too), I see the Bulls losing in '96 and '98.

4 titles. Jordan, with say, Gary Payton or John Stockton? 6 titles.

Forget the name on the back of your jersey, ISH. Think about team fit.

[bizil]

For me, the Bulls EASILY win six rings still. Barkley played plenty of SF in his career. The only problem would be defense on SF's. But guess what, the Bulls PF's in that era were Grant and Rodman. Both of those guys could defend the SF's while Barkley could guard the PF's. Jordan and Barkley together is simply too dominant a combination.

[Crystallas]

Barkley and Jordan would clash enough over a period of time, where the team would only be big enough for one. Pippen was mentally a perfect compliment to Jordan, making it a hard scenario to improve upon, unless the Bulls just stacked more complimentary depth.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Barkley was like the second or third best polayer in the league from '89-'93, and his interior offense and rebounding perfectly complement Jordan. No, they wouldn't have been as good defensively, but they wouldn't need to be. That's just overwhelming talent.

Jordan took the Pistons to the limit in '90, and in '89 handed them their only two losses of the playoffs basically singlehandedly, and now instead of a second option averaging 11 ppg/40% FG (Pippen in '89 vs. Detroit), you're giving him a 26 pt/13 reb/58% FG player and physical presence (which would undoubtedbly help against the Bad Boys)? They'd win in '89, and certainly no later than 1990. Then from '91-'93 you have two of the top 3 players on the league on the same team. No one is beating that team. lol @ anyone suggesting less than 4 rings.

[andgar923]

It would def be a different dynamic.

MJ wouldn't get doubled and tripled teamed as much, since they have to respect Chuck. MJ saves more energy because less pressure is on him.

He can use that energy on defense.

People make fun of Chuck's defense, but he was still good at disrupting passing lanes.

Pick and rolls between them would've been DEADLY.

Gonna say it... sit down....

Chuck setting up the offense is a more dangerous player than Pip will ever be.

He's a more dangerous passer because not only can he pass, he can create and is a bigger threat to the defense. Huge mismatch for the defense because who do they sag off of? who do they double?

Do you leave MJ to double Chuck? or leave Chuck to double MJ?

It's a nightmare scenario for teams.

Yeah... you lose a bit on the defensive end, although not as much as people may think. But they gain much much more offensively.

Again.... MJ IS NOT DOUBLE TEAMED!!!

Grasp that

CHUCK IS NOT BEING DOUBLE TEAMED!!!

Grasp that shit.

Two of the most efficient players in NBA history in the post/midrange together.

[andgar923]

People want to say 'Intangibles' when it comes to Pip?

How about all out hustle, heart, toughness, no holds barred?

Chuck was a f*ckin BEAST.

As an MJ fan he was the player I feared the most, because he brought it. Never appeared to be 6'4, always seemed like he was 6'8 or more.

MJ wouldn't have to jump in to protect him like he did with you know who.

[dubeta]

In all honestly they would probably go 2/5

Defence was the Bulls signature trait

[oarabbus]

People want to say 'Intangibles' when it comes to Pip?

How about all out hustle, heart, toughness, no holds barred?

Chuck was a f*ckin BEAST.

As an MJ fan he was the player I feared the most, because he brought it. Never appeared to be 6'4, always seemed like he was 6'8 or more.

MJ wouldn't have to jump in to protect him like he did with you know who.

This. I've heard 6'4" to 6'6" but at most he was MJs height and Scottie had a few inches on him. But he rebounded better than any 7' center. Insane.

People talking about "fit" - no way. Barkley is an upgrade over Pippen. Period.