Pippen Sidelined for at Least Two Months

Star forward Scottie Pippen is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season after foot surgery, a major loss for the Chicago Bulls as they go for their third straight NBA championship.

The Bulls said Tuesday that Pippen had an outpatient operation Monday in New York.

Pippen, who did not wish to discuss the surgery, injured the soft tissue of his left foot last season during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Miami.

“Each year we start off with some sort of challenge and this makes it even more so,” Michael Jordan said after practice in suburban Deerfield.

Rest was prescribed for the foot this summer, but it began hurting Pippen again. He skipped his own charity exhibition game in September and then missed the first several days of practice.

Without Pippen, the Bulls’ chances of earning the league’s best record for a third straight season could be in jeopardy.

“I think once he’s healthy he can come back and hopefully we’ll be in a situation where we still can challenge for a championship. I think we will,” Jordan said.

Pippen’s absence will mean more playing time for Toni Kukoc, newly acquired Scott Burrell and Jud Buechler.

Pippen, 32, averaged 20.2 points during last season and 19.2 in the playoffs and was also the Bulls’ best defender and primary ball handler.

“He’s so important to this ball club that when he comes back we want him 100% and we want him to stay,” Coach Phil Jackson said.

Meanwhile, the other starting forward, Dennis Rodman, has reportedly agreed to a new contract. ESPN reported that the one-year deal would be at a $4 million base with incentives that could raise it to $10 million, considerably more than the Bulls’ original offer. Rodman is expected to sign the agreement by the end of the week and join the Bulls.

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Muggsy Bogues, after first refusing to have an MRI exam and filing a grievance with the NBA players’ union, rejoined the Charlotte Hornets in Fort Mill, S.C., after tests showed he still has damage in his left knee but that it has not gotten significantly worse.

The Hornets had refused to let Bogues participate in practice or games until he passed the physical and the MRI.

“He still thinks that Muggsy’s taking a risk, a dangerous risk, to continue to play,” said Bob Bass, the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said of the team physician.

Bogues, however, was adamant, saying, “No one can determine when you need to stop playing. Only you decide that.”

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Point guard Mookie Blaylock returned to practice after breaking his left ring finger during a practice session at the Atlanta Hawks’ camp in Savannah, Ga. . . . Golden State Warrior forward Joe Smith returned to practice in Santa Rosa, Calif., after straining his right knee during a workout Monday morning. . . . Milwaukee Buck forward Armon Gilliam ended his absence from training by meeting with General Manager Bob Weinhauer, the team said. . . . Richard Christiansen, who threatened to blow up the Delta Center unless Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller gave him $150,000 pleaded guilty to sending a threatening communication through the U.S. Mail in Salt Lake City. Christiansen, 43, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and fined $250,000 for the crime.