"I want to play, but it doesn't mean I'm going to play," he says of next season. "I want to play; hopefully things will work out that I do. As you get older in life, challenges change. Eventually you have to make decisions."

"You have to show some loyalty to the players and coaches who made this happen," Pippen said. "(But) it's not our call. We've been able to build this team into a dominant team. But it comes down to the front office. When it's all said and done, the two Jerrys (Reinsdorf, Krause) will make the decision.

"I think Michael is a guy who has three great years left in him. This is a great team. We won 69 games. Why not bring us back? Give us the opportunity to be knocked off before tearing this apart."

Pippen set the odds of him returning to the Bulls next season at 50-50.

"I guess the Bulls' days are fleeting," Hunt said. "The days of Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman are precious few."

Though Reinsdorf is the chairman of the group that owns the Bulls, Hunt owns 11 percent of the team. He does not hold any power of the day-to-day operation of the team, but he would certainly know its future.

Scottie Pippen, right, is loyal to Jackson and Jordan. Krause, left, doesn't pay Pippen what he's worth, and he sometimes uses him as trade bait.

He wants to stay in Chicago, but what happens if he can't? Remember, it was Reinsdorf who advised Jackson to put a clause in his contract that he could talk to other teams during the playoffs so he wouldn't miss out on any opportunities.

Those close to Jackson say he could take a sabbatical and go to Montana, where everything's always Zen.

"Do I force Michael to retire, or does Mr. Reinsdorf force Michael to retire, or does Michael retire on his own? Those are the three options," Jackson said last week. "That's the way it's kind of boiled down to now with all this going on."

The players denied their silence was a premeditated effort to embarrass Reinsdorf. But if it was true, they surely wouldn't admit it now, would they?

Dennis Rodman is probably gone, and he has been his own worst enemy. The Bulls can only endure so many suspensions and distractions. Besides, he's not even sure if he wants to keep playing.

Reinsdorf said, "I don't think that's what it was. If I thought it was, it would annoy me because it would mean they're acting like children, and I don't think they're children."

The Tribune reported Saturday that management was going to force Jackson to pay the $75,000 in fines. Krause denied that vehemently. But there were also rumors of a heated argument between Krause and Jackson over the boycott.

Only Michael can save the day (as usual)

"I'm still in a holding pattern," he said Sunday. "I enjoy where I am right now. During the time I have a basketball in my hands and playing for the Chicago Bulls, I enjoy that moment. But you never know when it's going to end. It could be today, tomorrow, it could be next week."

Is there anything you can do?

"It's always out of my hands," Jordan said. "Everyone feels like I have a strongarm on the situation. I don't. People make decisions for their own reasons. Either way, I have to live with it."

"I don't think I have leverage in terms of what Mr. Reinsdorf is thinking. He's gone against the grain many times." --Michael Jordan

Any leverage at all, Mike?

"No, not in this situation. I don't think I have leverage in terms of what Mr. Reinsdorf is thinking. He's gone against the grain many times.

"It depends on how people look at things. How the maneuvers are being maneuvered. What's being said. Who's being backed into a corner. Who feels like a cat backed into a corner who will come out ready to fight. That's always a concern. Hopefully, it doesn't come down to that."

What about re-retiring?

"I pride myself on knowing when it's time to leave. ... I don't want to be someone who's chasing something they've already achieved. In some respects, I am. But I still feel there's something out there to prove, winning five championships, possibly six."

How 'bout going elsewhere and playing for the minimum?

"I don't know. I hope that's not put in front of me. But it's not just the minimum you have to consider. You have to consider the team. Where it's going to be. You have to consider the whole situation."

The sentiment is that Jordan would never play for Floyd, but there's always a chance if Jackson leaves, Jordan could return if the Bulls offer him, say, $35 million and let him name the coach.

Reinsdorf said he wants to sit down with Jordan after the playoffs to discuss the situation. Air's into that, saying, "I'd be willing to voice my opinion. Very openly. Very candidly."

What about Scottie and Dennis?

They are close friends now. For Christmas, Pippen gave Jordan a pair of pricey diamond earrings. Jordan was so touched, he swapped his more expensive Ferrari for Pippen's Porsche.

"I heard the (trade) rumors. But it's been like that every summer for me. Every time there's a draft my name seems to come up." --Scottie Pippen

They attend press conferences together, something Jordan would never allow before. Instead of Batman and Robin, they are Batman and Batman now.

And so Pippen's future with the Bulls is just as cloudy as Jordan's. He is also tied tightly into Jackson, and any dismantling would surely involve him, too.

Despite Reinsdorf's glowing report on Pippen earlier this season, in which he said he would like to sign him to a long-term deal, rumors have him on the trading block again.

The hottest one making the rounds has Pippen going to Philadelphia for Jerry Stackhouse and the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, which the Bulls would use to select Utah's Keith Van Horn, supposedly a Krause favorite.

"Yeah, I heard the rumors," Pippen said. "But it's been like that every summer for me. Every time there's a draft my name seems to come up.

"As a player, it bothers me a little bit. But I've already been traded once for Olden Polynice (draft day, 1987). If it happens, it happens. It's not the first rumor involving me."

Pippen, who was nearly traded to Seattle for Shawn Kemp two years ago, said he would like to play "three to four more years." Wherever he winds up he's going to want to mega-millions.

"If we win, I think I'll be back. If we don't, I'll probably be on a beach somewhere." --Dennis Rodman

"I just hope it works out (in Chicago)," he said. "I'm hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that it will work out. But it's hard to say because nobody knows."

Meanwhile, Pippen is making $2.3 million this season. Considering his talent, he is a pauper by NBA standards. And he knows "the two Jerrys" are to blame.

As for Rodman, he with the 17 technicals in 13 playoff games, it's doubtful he'll be back. Still, he said, "I'd love to stay in Chicago. If we win, I think I'll be back. If we don't, I'll probably be on a beach somewhere."

"I'd rather have a one-year deal," he added. "Year-to-year is great for me. I'm getting up there (in age)."

The Evil Empire?

First baseball, now the Bulls? Just to prove a point?

Should we be surprised? No, no, no. Not from a man who gave Albert Belle all that money after preaching fiscal sanity to his baseball pals. And who took the mike at last year's Bulls parade to thank the man who made all this possible -- Krause. Yes, Krause.

The band plays on

But that went away Saturday, when Jordan and Pippen finished with more field goals than the Heat, 22-21. No more "doo-doo" for the dynamic duo.

Losing Monday doesn't really matter, not with the Heat trying to save face, particularly Alonzo Mourning's after he guaranteed victory.

Jordan, after playing 48 holes of golf Sunday (he wanted to play 54 but it got dark) in scorching heat and draining humidity, missed his first 14 shots and was two for 22 at one point. He finished nine for 35 and the Bulls still nearly won.

The Bulls did win Wednesday and they reached the Finals. And, barring the end of the world as we know it, they will win title No. 5.

"I think this team is used to the fact that distractions aren't the things that are going to derail them," Jackson said. "They're like, OK, what's next? Whatever's next, we'll survive and we'll come through it. That's important. To keep direction."

But where will this road take them? To their tragic, untimely demise? It's cliché, but the only words that come to mind recall another sad Chicago ending: Say it ain't so.

Anthony L. Gargano of the New York Post is a frequent contributor to ESPNET SportsZone.