Why? Because he had to go to another team to get his Pippen/Shaq? Whatever anyone's opinion of Pippen, he was never a top-4 player in the entire league like Dwyane Wade is. At best, LBJ and Wade are 1A and 1B. And for that matter, Shaq is a poor comparison too, because he was The Man on those first 3 Lakers teams, not Kobe. Pippen was one of about 10 active players named to the top 50 players in NBA history. He was seen very highly during his playing days. I suppose I should correct myself by saying that Pippen was probably looked at as a top 4 player for the 93-94 season, when he could've been MVP but for a ridiculous season by Olajuwon.