CHICAGO -- Normal has never described Dennis Rodman.
So why should the end of his career be any different? His agent says he is retiring. Rodman says he's just taking a year off and isn't sure what's ahead.For sure, the renegade rebounder whose wild hair colors and bountiful body piercings and tattoos made him the NBA's most flamboyant and often troubled character, is not coming back to the Chicago Bulls.
"I'm not going to play this year," he told Fox Sports News on Tuesday night. "I am in limbo, but I'm not going to say I'm retired."
Hours earlier, his West Coast-based agent Dwight Manley said Rodman is finished with the game because he wants to go to Hollywood.
There was even a rumor swirling that Rodman would be signed and then traded to the New York Knicks for Buck Williams. That was quickly brushed off.
"Dennis is retiring," Manley said, although Rodman has considered retiring in each of the last five years. "He doesn't want to play."
"He wants to go into the sports and entertainment field. Some people have convinced him that he wants to become a movie star."
Manley said there are several teams still interested in signing the wacky, 37-year-old Rodman, known for his ferocious workouts, frequent forays to Las Vegas and an ability to hit the boards that led to seven straight rebounding titles.
Manley, who said he is severing his relationship with Rodman, declined to identify those teams who might want Rodman's services. The Bulls traded for him in 1995.
Rodman won championships with Chicago in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and two titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990.
But the Bulls are rebuilding, shipping out the nucleus of a team that won the last three titles. They certainly don't need an aging rebounder who doesn't score and causes trouble.
Pippen, meanwhile, is the biggest winner in the Bulls sweepstakes. He will sign a five-year, $67.2 million deal with the Bulls -- with an additional $15 million in incentives -- who will then ship him to Houston once the lockout officially ends. In return, the Bulls get Roy Rogers -- Trigger not included -- and a second-round draft pick.
Three-point specialist Kerr gets a five-year, $11 million deal before heading to San Antonio for draft picks. And center Longley will get a five-year, $30 million package before being traded to Phoenix for Mark Bryant, Martin Muursepp and Bubba Wells.
Rodman's off-court activities earned him much more notoriety than his rebounding.
He once announced his marriage, only to show up at a New York book signing in a wedding gown and blond wig -- sans groom; he offended Mormons and was fined $50,000 for making derogatory comments during the 1997 Finals in Salt Lake City; he skipped practice during the NBA Finals last summer to attend a wrestling match in Detroit, and later as "Rodzilla" teamed with Hulk Hogan to beat Karl Malone and Diamond Dallas Page.
He drew a six-game suspension for head-butting referee Ted Bernhardt in 1996 and drew another for 11 games in 1997 for kicking a courtside cameraman in Minneapolis.