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  1. #1
    Silence surpasses speech. duncan228's Avatar
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    Jerry Krause: MJ And I Still Aren't Close
    Sorting fact from friction
    By Frank Dell'Apa

    Jerry Krause was among the major factors in the success of the Chicago Bulls, building a team around Michael Jordan that would win six NBA championships. But Krause will not be going to Springfield for Jordan’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction this week, and not because of animosity toward Jordan.

    Krause, the Bulls general manager from 1985-2003, resigned from the Hall of Fame selection committee several years ago over a conflict with the selection process and vowed “not to go into the building’’ unless former Chicago assistant coach Tex Winter was inducted.

    “I don’t have a great desire to be there,’’ Krause said.

    Krause said he agreed with Bob Cousy, who objected to the secrecy of the process and absence of those he considered worthy candidates and resigned as chairman of the selection committee in the early ’90s.

    But some friction remains in the Krause-Jordan relationship, in stark contrast with Krause’s feelings toward another inductee, Utah coach Jerry Sloan. In fact, Krause said he might be tempted to attend if he were contacted by Sloan, whom Krause scouted in his Baltimore Bullets days in the early ’60s.

    “If Michael called, no,’’ Krause said. “If Jerry called me, that would be a tough one. But the answer is no.’’

    Krause contends that Winter’s triangle offense was crucial to the success of the Bulls and also helped bring out the best in Jordan. In fact, Winter was a Phil Jackson assistant for all six of the Bulls’ NBA championships and for three of the Jackson’s NBA les with the Lakers.

    “I think when we hired Phil to be head coach and Tex was already there with the triangle, Michael found out he could score in ways he never dreamed of scoring,’’ Krause said. “Michael ended up being the best-scoring point guard ever.’’

    Krause and Jordan sometimes disagreed on player acquisitions. Krause said Jordan wanted to select Joe Wolf in the ’87 draft, but the Bulls went with Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.

    “I did consult Michael and Scottie on [Dennis] Rodman,’’ Krause said. “I asked them if they had a big problem with it. But, no, they couldn’t have vetoed it.’’

    Krause joined the Bulls during Jordan’s rookie season, replacing Rod Thorn as GM.

    “We had Michael and 11 guys I didn’t want,’’ Krause said. “We didn’t know how good Michael was going to be - nobody knew. He improved year by year.’’

    Krause was concerned that Jordan’s eagerness to play while injured could have deleterious effects. After Jordan broke his navicular bone in ’85, four doctors recommended he not play.

    “Michael was very mad about it,’’ Krause said. “I told him, ‘I’m not going to let you play. You have a long career ahead of you and the navicular bone is the toughest to get blood to - very few athletes recover from that injury.’ He said I just cared about getting into the lottery and I said, ‘I care about your health.’ ’’

    Krause wished the Bulls dynasty had a “happy family’’ image similar to the one created by Red Auerbach with the Celtics.

    “We were not close, and we’re not close today,’’ Krause said of Jordan. “And that’s fine. I read [Bill] Russell on Red and it was a great book. We had the same success but not the same relationship.

    “I don’t know if it was adversarial. We were both stubborn and both had our minds made up about the game. We would needle each other. I’d say, ‘That move last night, you’ve got a ways to go before you catch [Earl] Monroe.’ And he would say, ‘That [expletive] Monroe.’ After he retired the first time, I told him he was better than Monroe.

    “He was a total professional in every sense. He really understood what it meant to be a professional. He could have been real difficult about contracts but he wasn’t.’’

  2. #2
    Europe's #1 Spurs Fan alamo50's Avatar
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    Interesting read.

  3. #3
    Take the fcking keys away baseline bum's Avatar
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    Freaking Krause tried to blow that team up after the 96 championship by trading Pippen, which is one of the main reasons Jordan started playing on one year contracts.

  4. #4
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    Krause and Jordan sometimes disagreed on player acquisitions. Krause said Jordan wanted to select Joe Wolf in the ’87 draft, but the Bulls went with Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.
    How lucky for the Bulls that they didn't let Jordan get his way.

  5. #5
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    Good to see this story unfold. We were told Jordan's side for so many, many years. Krause was high tech lynched. Shame.

  6. #6
    Kidd-Gilchrist Damn Chieflion's Avatar
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    This is the idiot who wanted to trade Scottie Pippen for Shawn Crackhead Kemp and the following year, wants to ship him to Toronto for Tracy McGrady when they have the green light to win a championship.

  7. #7
    Veteran Chillen's Avatar
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    As a Bulls fan I have a love/hate vibe for Krause. He has to be given some credit for the championships, on the other hand his reign there as GM ended miserably. Breaking up the team to rebuild in 1999 and hiring Tim Floyd to replace Phil Jackson. Giving the new coach nothing to rebuild with and ruining his NBA career as a head coach, trading Toni Kukoc for John Starks who didn't want to even suit up as a Chicago Bull, as previous posters mentioned wanting to trade Pip for Kemp and trade him later for Tmac despite the championship prospects.

    Bottom line, once he broke the dynasty up he self imploded as the Bulls GM.

  8. #8
    Veteran Chillen's Avatar
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    That dynasty had run its course. The Spurs and Lakers were prime.
    Yep. I agree. The Bulls would have lost to both the 99' Spurs and 00' Lakers. Duncan and Robinson would have been to much for them, and a prime Kobe and Shaq just to much. It would have been very close (6 or 7 games) but they would have lost.

  9. #9
    Dragon style JamStone's Avatar
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    How lucky for the Bulls that they didn't let Jordan get his way.
    How unlucky for the Wizards and the Bobcats that he got his way with Kwame Brown, Jerry Stackhouse, and Adam Morrison among other player acquisitions.

  10. #10
    Believe. Mori Chu's Avatar
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    Was it Krause who traded Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler? Or was that a Paxson special?

  11. #11
    I am the man with no name Hornets1's Avatar
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    Growing Up as a bulls fanatic, I hated Jerry Krause. He wanted to break up the Phil Jackson/MJ Combo, which was downright re ed. Phil Jackson is arguably the best coach ever and Jordan is handsdown the best player ever.

  12. #12
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    Growing Up as a bulls fanatic, I hated Jerry Krause.
    That's because Media demonized Krause, and you, being a sheep lapped it up.

  13. #13
    I am the man with no name Hornets1's Avatar
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    That's because Media demonized Krause, and you, being a sheep lapped it up.
    Yea, I'm not an insider and the media is/was pretty much all I have to go by in some cases; this was one of them.

    BTW, I'm 24 and have been a basketball junkie all my life. I was around 5 when I started watching basketball(the bulls and MJ in 1989). I stopped being a bulls fan when we got the Hornets.

    I know we don't agree on much Culburn, but calling me a sheep for believing that wasn't necessary. I would have taken alot more from your comment if you would have just said "Thats b/c the media demonized Krause." Don't get me wrong, I will take you for your word, esp. b/c it doesn't seem far-fetched whatsoever. Just try to be civil about it. Discussion is alot more effective than arguement. I was 5 when I started Idolizing MJ and when your young, you don't know these type of things. I learned when I was older of about all of MJ's gambling and cheating on his spouse ways. This is one of the things I haven't heard discussed since I have been of age to "understand it all."

    Not trying to sound condescending towards you whatsoever, just state the fact and wait till I make an uneducated(or usually not) after the fact to start name-calling

  14. #14
    License to Lillard tlongII's Avatar
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    Krause was a ing idiot. He broke up the Bulls dynasty which was inexcusable. It doesn't matter if they could or could not have won another one. They at least deserved a chance.

  15. #15
    Veteran Chillen's Avatar
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    Krause was a ing idiot. He broke up the Bulls dynasty which was inexcusable. It doesn't matter if they could or could not have won another one. They at least deserved a chance.
    Exactly. They would have probably lost to the Spurs, but the Eastern Conference that year had an 8th seed reach the NBA finals to face Duncan and Robinson's Spurs in the lockout shortened season. If Phil Jackson had won one with the Bulls that season I guarantee he would defend to death any asterisk remarks. Many people think it was time to end the dynasty but Jordan, Kukoc, Rodman and Pip were still going strong years later. They had after 1998 a legit 4 year window to try and win it all again, than I could see the reason to break them up and rebuild.

  16. #16
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    Krause was a ing idiot. He broke up the Bulls dynasty which was inexcusable.
    Complete horse .

  17. #17
    go balls deep for jesus Kermit's Avatar
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    After watching Jordan perform an abortion on the Washington franchise, I can't see how anyone can ever take his side in the feud with Fat Jerry when it comes to managing a basketball team. The man took Kwame Brown with the number one pick.

  18. #18
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    After watching Jordan perform an abortion on the Washington franchise, I can't see how anyone can ever take his side in the feud with Fat Jerry
    Because that "Fat Jerry" was one of the primary ways in which Krause was cast down. He was fat, white, homely, successful. They strapped that f'er to the post and whipped his ass mercilessly. Who'd want to stop them? He was the perfect patsy. They'd always include the unflattering photos of him looking like a fat slob. He tripled twice/like Jordan--but, that had no bearing on his station.

  19. #19
    Take the fcking keys away baseline bum's Avatar
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    Because that "Fat Jerry" was one of the primary ways in which Krause was cast down. He was fat, white, homely, successful. They strapped that f'er to the post and whipped his ass mercilessly. Who'd want to stop them? He was the perfect patsy. They'd always include the unflattering photos of him looking like a fat slob. He tripled twice/like Jordan--but, that had no bearing on his station.
    Fat Jerry was a narcissist who thought he was as important as Phil Jackson, Pippen, and Jordan to that team's success, and burned bridges with all three of them because he was completely convinced he'd just pluck Tim Duncan from small-market San Antonio and raid Grant Hill from Detroit or Tracy McGrady from Toronto. Then the les would just keep rolling in. Bravo to Krause for drafting Ho Grant and trading for Pippen in the draft, but he made some colossal mistakes such as letting Orlando Woolridge walk for nothing and trading a young Charles Oakley, not to mention putting the stake into the heart of the 6-time champions in 1998. Cartwright was a nice player, but no way he was worth Oak, especially at his age.

    LMAO @ "Players don't win championships; organizations do"

  20. #20
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    LMAO @ "Players don't win championships; organizations do"
    Not so funny though when you take into full account your Spurs Organization, eh, bum?

  21. #21
    Take the fcking keys away baseline bum's Avatar
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    Not so funny though when you take into full account your Spurs Organization, eh, bum?
    Pop has said a million times he and the organization would have never been without Duncan and Robinson. The Bulls had the same organization for years after Jordan left and where did it get them?

  22. #22
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    Pop has said a million times he and the organization would have never been without Duncan and Robinson.
    Conversely, Duncan and Robinson, et al has said a million times that they would have never been without Pop & the organization.

  23. #23
    Take the fcking keys away baseline bum's Avatar
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    Conversely, Duncan and Robinson, et al has said a million times that they would have never been without Pop & the organization.
    Duncan and Robinson would be Hall of Famers on the Clippers.

  24. #24
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    Duncan and Robinson would be Hall of Famers on the Clippers.
    Don't blame me, blame Duncan & Robinson, they're the ones who give all the credit to the Spurs Organization. I got ya by the short hairs and ya know it. You and your Spurs Fandom have been singing the praises of your Organization ever since I landed on this berg. Now Krause shows up and you try and rewrite history real quck. Uh, uh.

  25. #25
    Take the fcking keys away baseline bum's Avatar
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    Don't blame me, blame Duncan & Robinson, they're the ones who give all the credit to the Spurs Organization. I got ya by the short hairs and ya know it. You and your Spurs Fandom have been singing the praises of your Organization ever since I landed on this berg. Now Krause shows up and you try and rewrite history real quck. Uh, uh.
    LOL. Laker fans are so insecure and always trying to tear Jordan down to elevate Magic and LeBron to elevate Kobe. It's pathetic.

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