“Everyone wants to play somewhere else; nobody’s happy or having any fun” - John Paxson revealed the state of the Chicago Bulls in 1991

The state of the Chicago Bulls wasn’t all roses and butterflies before they went on to win six championships and formed one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. In fact, it was close to crumbling down, and that had a lot to do with the fact that almost every player was unhappy with the situation in which they found themselves.

In January of 1991, Bulls guard John Paxson gave a glimpse of the state of the team before entering the playoffs:

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” then-point guard John Paxson said in 1991, as published in the Chicago Tribune. “Here we are winning, and nobody’s happy. … Nobody wants to be here, except maybe me and they don’t want me. Everyone wants to play somewhere else; nobody’s happy or having any fun. Guys want more minutes or more shots, or more money. They want guys traded and management guys fired. And what if we weren’t winning? It’s just not supposed to be like this, is it?”

Individual goals were put over team goals

The reason why a lot of the members from the Bulls weren’t happy was due to individual concerns: Michael Jordan didn’t feel he had enough around him to finally make a breakthrough, Scottie Pippen felt he was underpaid and was trying to get as many touches as possible to increase his scoring while the likes of Horace Grant, Stacey King, and Will Perdue knew that MJ didn’t like being around them. On top of all this, Phil Jackson was in the midst of trying to get his team to buy into his triangle system and philosophies.

As veteran Bulls beat writer Sam Smith implied, this team felt like one that was going to explode if they didn’t achieve anything by the end of the season.

“I never really did. I think they passed over that in the documentary, but that season was a crossroad season for the Bulls, not really for Jordan. If they didn’t get past the Pistons again … it’s like if you can’t get by them now, we’re going to have to break this up and try something different, which Michael had been lobbying for,” Smith told the Chicago Tribune.

Winning cured everything

Despite there being a huge disconnect in the Bulls locker room at that time, what brought them all together was the fact that they all just wanted to win and finally get past the Detroit “Bad Boy” Pistons — who had beaten them twice in 1988 and 1989. Smith described beating the “Bad Boy” Pistons as one of the biggest turning points that led to the formation of the Bulls dynasty.

“He [Jordan] was not a believer in (Scottie) Pippen or (Horace) Grant and felt they couldn’t physically stand up to what the Pistons were delivering. So it was really a crucial turning point for the team. But there was no suggestion that I’ve got a bestseller on my hands, we’ve got a dynasty at its foundation. Nobody was thinking anything like that, including the players or management,” Smith said.

Eventually, Pippen got paid, and Paxson and Grant stayed as Jordan began to trust his teammates and the coaching style and philosophies of the “Zen Master.” It helped that the Bulls had a strong leadership — who may have bumped heads with their superstars — who knew how to build a team around Jordan.

That’s why beating the “Bad Boy” Pistons was more than just validation and vengeance for the Bulls; it was a breakthrough for everyone in the locker room who came together and formed something special for the years to come.

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