The Bulls will have an interesting next six weeks or so to make sure the newly announced Ring of Honor doesn’t quickly become a Ring of the Disgruntled.
Let the bridge repairs begin.
On Tuesday, the Bulls unveiled the inaugural class, and of course the headliner of that group was six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan.
Jordan, who was also a six-time Finals MVP and five-time league MVP, will be joined by 12 other members, as well as the 1995-96 championship team. The franchise plans to add to its Ring of Honor every two years, which means the next class will be inducted in 2026.
But first things first, besides an icy relationship with Jordan, the Bulls haven’t been on the best of terms with Scottie Pippen, whom they fired from his title as team ambassador/advisor back in 2020.
Then there’s coach Phil Jackson, who is always a wild card in all of this.
“The Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor will be a first-of-its-kind celebration honoring many of the legends who have helped shape our organization over the past 57 years,” team president and chief executive officer Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “They have deep connections to our fans and community and represent a spirit of competition, hard work and toughness. This January, we look forward to cementing their legacy in Bulls history and inspiring the future of our organization.”
The inaugural class also includes Artis Gilmore, Johnny “Red” Kerr, Dick Klein, Jerry Krause, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Dennis Rodman, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Tex Winter.
As far as the 1995-96 team, which went 72-10 on its way to holding up the Larry O’Brien, the group to be honored includes Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, Jason Caffey, James Edwards, Jack Haley, Ron Harper, Jordan, Steve Kerr, Kukoc, Luc Longley, Pippen, Rodman, John Salley, Dickey Simpkins and Bill Wennington.
Coaches: Jim Cleamons, Jackson, Erik Helland, John Paxson, Jimmy Rodgers and Winter. Front-office members: Ivica Dukan, Clarence Gaines Jr., Krause, John Ligmanowski, Chip Schaefer, Jim Stack and Al Vermeil.
Thanks to the work put in by vice president of community engagement and charity director Adrienne Scherenzel and director of alumni relations Matt Yob, most of the relationships with the members of this inaugural class are in a good place.
That was evident last month when Rodman made his long-awaited return to the United Center.
What still wasn’t fully discussed was the timing of this announcement. While the on-the-court product has been better as of late, it’s still a team that is seven games under .500.
Maybe it brings false relevance back to a franchise that hasn’t won a title in almost a quarter of a century or maybe it’s as innocent as coach Billy Donovan described it.
In Donovan’s estimation, all organizations should remember their past successes. Donovan would know, considering he is in both the Providence and Florida Hall of Fame, as well as having the court named after him at Florida.
“There’s a lot of people that throughout the course of their careers have invested a lot,” Donovan said. “Obviously, the organization is the one that provides the opportunities, but I think when you look at the history of the organization, the success, the different players, coaches that have come through, I think honoring people is a good thing. Everybody puts their heart and soul into this.”
