How the Dennis Rodman trade helped the Chicago Bulls

Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman complemented each other on and off the court, helping the Bulls win consecutive NBA championships from 1996 to 1998.

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Before the start of the 1995-96 season, the Chicago Bulls traded backup center Will Perdue to the San Antonio Spurs for Dennis Rodman, who was then a two-time NBA champion, four-time NBA rebounding champion, and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

At the time of the trade, Rodman was considered highly talented, but also extremely controversial. Rodman clashed with coaches, teammates, and the media during his time in San Antonio, so the Spurs were eager to move on from him despite his impressive rebounding abilities.

Improving frontcourt defense

The Bulls saw an opportunity to add an excellent defender and rebounder to their already talented roster. Rodman’s presence helped the Bulls improve their frontcourt defense which gave them a better chance of winning another NBA championship.

Bulls general manager Jerry Krause and head coach Phil Jackson talked a lot with Rodman before trading for him. According to Jackson, Krause left the decision to acquire Rodman up to him. Jordan and Pippen approved the move.

“Phil and I talked very carefully about this,” Krause said. “We did an awful lot of homework and found out a lot of things. We were both satisfied.”

The Rodman effect

The Bulls were hurting on the boards since losing Horace Grant to free agency in 1994, and Jordan’s return forced Toni Kukoc to play out of position at power forward.

The 1995-96 campaign was the final year of Rodman’s contract, and he exceeded expectations, averaging 5.5 points, 2.5 assists and a league-best 14.9 rebounds in 32.6 minutes over 64 games in the regular season while behaving well. The Bulls decided to extend his contract for two more years.

“The one promise we made to Dennis, was, we said at the beginning, when we first talked, we said at the end of the year we will sit down and we’ll talk about the future, and I think that’s what we are gonna do, we are going to sit down at the end of the year,” Krause told Jim Gray from NBC Sports before the Bulls played the Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.

“Dennis has been outstanding, he hasn’t missed a practice, he hasn’t been late, he’s done the things we’ve asked him to do on the basketball court, he’s a tremendous practice player, Dennis has been very good for this team and I believe that he’s a good person.”

Rodman averaged 5.2 points, 15.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 34.6 minutes over 199 regular season games with the Bulls from 1996 to 1998. He won three rebounding titles and even averaged a career-high 3.1 assists in 1997.

The five-time NBA champion averaged 5.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 32.4 minutes over 58 playoff games with the Bulls.

In the end, the trade worked out well for the Bulls and the Spurs. Rodman thrived in Chicago, playing a crucial role in helping the Bulls win three NBA championships in a row from 1996 to 1998.

Perdue, on the other hand, played a solid role for the Spurs as a backup center, and they went on to win their first NBA championship in 1999.