Chicago Bulls '97-98

Clearly this applies to Dennis Rodman. The guy doesn't have to worry about food or security, so the guy dresses like a woman, head-butts referees, irks his teammates, and then says he'll play the whole season with his salary conditional on him not getting suspended. That is risk-taking.

Strangely, however, as of now, Rodman is refusing to sign a contract he agreed to because it pays him based on team-based incentives. Rodman now thinks that he won't make much money because Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc are injured and the team won't win as much. What does that tell you about what Rodman thinks his own contribution to winning is?

Aside from Rodman, the study implies things about winning teams. Basically, when life is good, teams look for new thrills. For the Bulls, life has been good for several seasons and one would think that they would take chances. Maybe that's why they still have Rodman...

But seriously, what is Jordan's motivation? What is the motivation of Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley? They all know that the talent is there to dominate again. There was little doubt that they would win last year and the only doubt this year is due to health. Maybe they are going to try to win the title without even having home court advantage through the playoffs. But they have already done that, too, five years ago when they beat Phoenix.

It was easy to pick the Bulls to fall off last season from their previous record-setting season. It is just as easy to predict the same this year. They already have security, so they will look for thrills and risks. Whatever those thrills are, it will take away from the motivation to win, at least during the regular season. The Bulls should win another title, but it should be a little more exciting than it has been the past two years.