Pippen May Return To Bulls

While the world awaits word from Michael Jordan as to whether he'll retire or return, one other obstacle to a reunion of the Chicago Bulls suddenly seems surmountable.

Scottie Pippen, whose relationship with the Bulls front office was so bad that many expected him to leave as a free agent, is willing to re-sign with the defending world champions.

"Scottie Pippen will be theirs to lose at this point," said his agent, Jimmy Sexton. "Scottie loves Chicago, loves the team, and so if we can work a deal out that works for Scottie, I think he would like to stay there."

Though Pippen is still considered one of the top free agents available, some teams might shy away from him because of the back surgery he had last summer. But Pippen's back is fine, Sexton said.

"For the last six weeks, he's been playing in Chicago, playing full-court, full-speed and has been cleared by the doctors to play," Sexton said. "So he's ready to play a game tonight if he has to."

Jordan, meanwhile, remained out of the country.

"I hope Michael makes a decision he's comfortable with," agent David Falk said.

With the gag order lifted and the start of training camps more than a week away, the previously muzzled masses -- also known as coaches and general managers -- started talking Friday about the upcoming season.

There were rumors floating around, jokes being told about the most out-of-shape players and ruminations on what it's like to sit around for six months with basically nothing to do.

Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy recalled his toughest decision each day:

"hocolate chip or vanilla wafers," he said.

The decisions will be more important in the coming days as teams begin setting their game plans for going into an abbreviated 50-game season that could start Feb. 5.

The lockout will not officially end until the agreement reached Wednesday is put into writing, and training camps are not expected to open until Jan. 18. All trades and free agent signings are on hold until then, too.

However, the league agreed Friday to permit teams to negotiate with player agents immediately, the New York Times reported.

While the decision allows nearly 200 players to negotiate through their agents, no new contracts can be signed until the new agreement is in writing.

According to the newspaper, the league sent memorandums to the 29 teams about 5 p.m. Friday advising them that negotiations could proceed.

Attorneys for the league and the union worked at putting their interpretations of Wednesday's agreement into writing, and the sides planned to exchange those documents Saturday.

They'll have the weekend to compare notes, and a conference among all parties -- lawyers for the league, the union, and from both of their outside firms -- is scheduled for Monday.

"Today is Day 1 of them being holed up around the clock, trying to hammer this out," NBA spokesman Chris Brienza said Friday.

Almost all league employees were forbidden from speaking about their players or the details of the work stoppage during the lockout.

"It's been awful. It's been the worst time of my life," Indiana Pacers president Donnie Walsh said. "I was all right until the games started getting missed, and then I was coming in and I was worried, because usually at that time of the year I am worried."

"Then I realized I didn't have anything to worry about because I didn't have any games. That was a very confusing time in my life. I had holidays that were supposed to be joyous, and I wasn't."

Walsh has the advantage of bringing almost his entire team back, meaning he won't have to scramble to fill a roster the way some teams will.

The Bulls, Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets have only four players apiece under contract, while the Phoenix Suns have five.

"We're behind the eight-ball in about every way we can be," Hawks president Stan Kasten said. "Let's face it, the rest of the year is going to be rough."

Another concern is conditioning.

Patrick Ewing, who as union president spent the summer, fall and early part of winter locked inside office buildings because of the lockout, is at least 20 pounds overweight.

Shawn Kemp of the Cleveland Cavaliers was the butt of endless jokes in Atlantic City last month when he showed up for an exhibition game carrying at least 20 extra pounds.

One coach who is not worried is Miami's Pat Riley.

"I have heard from people in Miami that our guys are working out. Our guys are in a culture of conditining," he said. "If our guys walk through that door today without me, they could probably run through 70 to 80 percent of our stuff."

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