The Jordan Heirs

There was a time, before a certain bald-headed, tongue-wagging member of the Chicago Bulls decided to cash in his IRA and take early retirement, when the arrival of the Chicago team bus at any hotel entrance gave new meaning to the term "crunch time." The Bulls would routinely find hundreds of people waiting for them outside the hotel lobby, all hoping for at least a glimpse of Michael Jordan . Security people—Michael's Secret Service , some of the players called them—waited to escort Jordan through the crowd. "Mike would look out the bus window at all the people and say, 'I'm not going out there,' " says Chicago center Will Perdue. "The rest of us would look at him and say, 'We're not going out there until you go out there.' " Finally Jordan would disembark first, to be swallowed up by the crowd, and the rest of the players would stroll casually to their rooms, as unnoticed as Elvis 's roadies.

Not any longer. The post-Jordan era began in earnest last month when the Bulls arrived at their Louisville hotel before a preseason game to find only a modest gathering—about 50 people. And because there was no Jordan , and thus no security to run interference, the players each stepped into a knot of autograph-seekers and signed as they walked, slowly trying to make way for themselves.

That's what life is like now for the Bulls : They have been forced to find a new path for themselves, with each player carrying an extra candle to make up for the torch that was extinguished when His Airness retired in October. It has been a difficult process but, so far, not an altogether unpleasant one, as shown by their 3-2 record through Sunday. Of course, there was an embarrassing 95-71 loss at home to the Miami Heat on Nov. 6, in which the Bulls established a dubious franchise record by scoring only six points in the second quarter. But with center Scott Williams and guard John Paxson sidelined by injuries, Chicago was bound to throw in at least one clunker.

Just the night before, in the final seconds against the Hornets, the Bulls had shown just how they hoped to share the responsibility without Jordan around. Trailing 123-122 with 7.5 seconds left, they ran a play for forward Scottie Pippen , but he was cut off on his drive to the basket. Pippen gave the ball up to guard Pete Myers, who hoisted a prayer from the lane over Hornet center Alonzo Mourning . Myers missed, but teammate Horace Grant put in the rebound for the game-winner. Later, Grant said what everyone had been thinking: "If number 23 had been there, you know he would have gotten [the shot]. But we don't have that crutch to lean on anymore. We had to stand on our own two feet."

Bull coach Phil Jackson has tried to lighten the burden of replacing Jordan by parceling it out among several players. Veterans Pippen, Grant and starting center Bill Cartwright have tried to fill the leadership vacuum, journeyman Myers has been called on to provide a fair imitation of Jordan 's defense, long-awaited Croatian swingman Toni Kukoc has added his passing skills to the mix, and the Bulls have looked for more scoring from, well, from everyone. Jackson 's job has even changed—from trying to build toward the playoffs to approaching every game as if it were the playoffs. "This is a team still in the process of finding itself," he says. "One thing we do know is that we're going to have to get emotional about games to win them." On their best nights the Bulls look excited about the transition from a monarchy to something approximating a democracy. On their worst, they look like they desperately need a new king.

The most obvious candidate for the throne, of course, is Pippen, who seems eager to assume it. "I've been able to sit back and enjoy for a long time, but no more," he says. "I've been asked to step up in front of the pack. I know I'll be measured by that, and I'm ready for it." Jackson gave him Jordan 's co-captaincy—Cartwright remains the other co-captain—and it is no coincidence that Pippen, a Dream Teamer, has taken over Jordan 's coveted locker-room stall, which is twice as big as the others and is closest to the sanctuary of the trainer's room.

But it's unlikely that the team once known as Michael and the Jordanaires will ever be called Scottie and the Pipps, because Pippen lacks Jordan 's gift for leadership. On his first day of preseason practice Pippen took it upon himself to completely outplay newcomer Kukoc , just as Jordan had dismantled many a practice opponent before him. Privately, the other players weren't quite sure what to make of Pippen's display. Was he trying to imitate Jordan ? Was he sending a message to Kukoc about whose team this was? Was he just trying to set an aggressive example for Kukoc and the other Bulls ? And wasn't he risking damage to Kukoc 's psyche? Ruffling a few feathers isn't the end of the world; Jordan wasn't always considered Mr. Congeniality by his teammates, either. Besides, Kukoc , the 6'11" Croatian sensation who signed with the Bulls in July (he was their second-round pick in the 1990 draft, 29th overall) after being pursued for three years by general manager Jerry Krause , made it clear that he wasn't traumatized by being spun around like a top by Pippen.

"I don't care if he kicks my butt in practice," Kukoc said. "That's the only way to learn." Still, Pippen's display that day raised serious doubts about whether he is suited to be the team's emotional center.

As for the multiskilled Kukoc , his transition to the NBA might be eased by his ability to remain undaunted by his mistakes. In an early preseason scrimmage he didn't know what all the fuss was about when he dribbled from the frontcourt into the backcourt, an NBA violation. "Every now and then I slip," he says. "My teammates tease me a little and help me a lot."

Although he was known as the Magic-Johnson of Europe because of his remarkable ball-handling and passing talents, Kukoc has mostly looked more like a typical rookie, trying to adjust to the mad swirl of the NBA . "You know how when Americans drive cars in Europe , sometimes they have a hard time adjusting to how fast everyone goes?" he says. "That is how I feel in the NBA . Everyone goes vroom, vroom."