Jerry Krause passed away on Tuesday at the age of 77. He will forever be remembered as the man who built one of the greatest dynasties in the history of American sports, even if he didn't get enough credit while he was alive. His omission from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a travesty; one that will hopefully be remedied this year. Krause is on the ballot again in the contributor category, and his death will likely be the final push he needs to get enough votes. It's undeniably sad that he won't get to enjoy that moment when his name is finally called. In this case, "better late than never" won't really apply.
Krause accomplished so much in his long career, serving as a scout for both the NBA and MLB before being named general manager of the Chicago Bulls in 1985. Jerry was never the most popular guy in the Bulls locker room, and he constantly felt disrespected and shunned by the players and coaches who benefited from all of his hard work. The friction between Krause and his two most important employees - Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson - was no secret to the public.
Many Bulls fans still blame Krause for the breakup of the dynasty without knowing all of the facts. Jackson had already decided he was leaving before the quest for their second threepeat began in the fall of 1997. Dennis Rodman's body was falling apart. So was Luc Longley's. The role players around the Big Three were hitting free agency and the Bulls couldn't afford to pay them. Jordan was open to playing another year, but required a massive one-year contract that would've eaten up a huge portion of the team's cap space. Scottie Pippen didn't want to stay without Michael or Phil.
Keeping the band together was impossible, but for some reason fans still blamed Krause. Perhaps because the public already saw him as the organization's punching bag; a short, chubby guy whom Jordan nicknamed "Crumbs" for his poor eating habits and slovenly appearance. Back in the good ol' days, it was hard for fans to side with anyone other than MJ. The man was a living god in Chicago. If he hated Krause, we had to hate him too. By default. It was misguided hate and frustration from a fanbase that so badly wanted to see the dynasty continue.
Now that Krause is gone and so much time has passed, it's necessary to remember and appreciate all of his work that made the dynasty possible. In honor of his memory, let's look back at some of Jerry's best moves as general manager of the Bulls during the '80s and '90s.
Counting down the Top 10:
10. Signed John Paxson & Ron Harper
Finding a point guard who can play alongside the best shooting guard in the game is no easy task, but Krause hit it out of the park twice. That's why there's a tie at #10.
In October of 1985, just six months into his GM job, Jerry signed free agent John Paxson. Upon Paxson's arrival, Jordan was being placed on the shelf with the broken foot he suffered at the beginning of his second season. When MJ returned later that season, he and Paxson initially clashed in the backcourt. But Paxson adjusted to Jordan, who demanded the ball much more than the average shooting guard. On some possessions, he initiated the triangle offense. On others, he served as an off-guard around the perimeter for a kick-out when MJ or Pippen drove and were double-teamed. And of course - most importantly - sometimes he swallowed his pride and just let Jordan be Jordan.
Paxson wasn't a hot commodity after his first two NBA seasons in San Antonio. But like so many other times throughout his career, Krause saw something special that other scouts or managers didn't. Paxson spent nine seasons in Chicago, playing a crucial role on the first three championship teams. Despite fans' current frustrations with Pax in his front office position, no one will ever forget: "Paxson...Yaaas! He hit the 3!"
In the fall of 1994, with Jordan playing baseball and John Paxson readying for retirement, Krause signed free agent guard Ron Harper. Krause loved Harper for his length, athleticism and defensive prowess. He wasn't a great range shooter, but he was deadly from midrange and could attack the basket and distribute beautifully in traffic.
Upon Jordan's return in 1995, Harper - just like Paxson - took a back seat to his backcourt teammate. Harper was used to being a primary scorer on his previous teams in Los Angeles and Cleveland. But between Jordan and Pippen's touches, Harper's scoring numbers fell dramatically in Chicago. He didn't complain, just played his role. With all of their length and tenacity, MJ, Pip and Harper created the league's most maddeningly stingy perimeter defense that helped the team to its second threepeat. And Krause was right to love Harper's toughness, despite having the dreaded ACL tear on his injury resume. Ron played 80, 76 and 82 regular season games in those threepeat years.
After a disappointing 1985-86 campaign that saw the Bulls go 30-52, Krause fired head coach Stan Albeck after just one season and hired Doug Collins as his replacement. Collins had a respectable playing career in the NBA but minimal credentials as a coach when Krause hired him. He served briefly as an assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State. That's it. But Krause saw potential, and took a risk.
That risk paid off. Under Collins, the Bulls saw 10-win improvements in each of the next two seasons. In 1988, they beat the heavily favored Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, they knocked off Cleveland and New York to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1975. Collins would be replaced by his assistant Phil Jackson after three seasons in charge, and it was Jackson who went on to coach all six of the title teams. But were it not for Krause taking a chance on the unproven Collins, the young Bulls may not have taken those necessary steps towards becoming legitimate contenders.
Horace Grant was not a big name entering the 1987 NBA Draft after playing college ball at Clemson. Per usual, Krause didn't care what other scouts were saying. In Grant, he saw an elite interior defender and a great athlete with offensive potential. The 10th overall pick in the draft, Horace played his rookie season behind veteran power forward Charles Oakley. But Krause believed in the Clemson kid, and the Oakley trade in the summer of '88 (we'll get to that later) gave Grant his chance to shine.
Horace quickly became the team's reliable third scoring option behind Jordan and his fellow '87 draft product Scottie Pippen. His defense and rebounding skills rivaled the best big men in the league. Two of his four selections to the All-Defensive Team came as a member of the Bulls, including the 1992-93 season that completed the first threepeat. After Paxson's three pointer in the '93 Finals, Grant sealed the title by blocking the shot of Suns guard Kevin Johnson as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Kudos to Krause for drafting Grant, who fit into his "OKP" (Our Kind of People) criteria despite being a fairly unknown prospect.
In the summer of 1986, Krause hired Johnny Bach to be an assistant to new head coach Doug Collins. Bach was a defensive specialist who helped mold the defensive games of the Bulls' initial Big Three of Jordan, Pippen and Grant. Collectively, they spearheaded Bach's "Doberman Defense" that became feared throughout the league.
Grant praised Bach for building the trust that existed between Bulls teammates on the defensive end.
Krause took a big risk by selecting Toni Kukoc in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft. Not only were European players' NBA ceilings harder to judge against their overseas opponents, there was no guarantee Kukoc would ever leave Europe and come to Chicago.
While Krause feverishly pursued Toni Kukoc in the early '90s, Jordan and Pippen mocked and scolded him for showing Kukoc more love than the stars that were actively winning the organization championships. In fact, the Bulls' dynamic duo made a point of harassing and dominating Kukoc when the Dream Team played against Croatia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
But after Jordan's first retirement in 1993, Krause finally got Kukoc to come on board. The combo forward earned All-Rookie 2nd Team honors. Kukoc quickly won over the hearts of Bulls fans with his versatile offensive skillset and dorky smile. As Phil Jackson's first man off the bench, Kukoc gave the Bulls one of the deadliest second units in the NBA. After their historic 72-10 season in 1995-96, Toni won the Sixth Man of the Year award. Jordan and Pippen quickly gained respect and appreciation for the kid they tried to embarrass just a few years earlier. On any nights when either Jordan or Pippen was injured or not playing well, Kukoc picked up the slack.
It's hard to see the Bulls completing that second threepeat without Kukoc, and there's no way Kukoc comes to Chicago without Krause.
Jordan fought Krause hard on this one. Jordan and Charles Oakley had become not just in-sync teammates but very good friends off the court. But in the summer of 1988, Krause traded Oakley to the New York Knicks for veteran center Bill Cartwright.
Cartwright wanted a change of scenery after years of playing behind Patrick Ewing in New York. The Bulls had long coveted a legitimate starting center who could score in the low post and shore up the interior defense. Oakley was a superb rebounder (he led the NBA in total rebounds in '87 and '88) but he was only 6'8. At 7'1, Cartwright gave the Bulls some much-needed size and toughness to contend with the giants (McHale, Parish, Laimbeer, Mahorn) of Eastern Conference powerhouses Boston and Detroit.
Jordan may have hated the trade at the time, but he has since admitted it was the right move. If Krause doesn't pull the trigger on that deal and finally get the Bulls a reliable center, odds are they don't get that first threepeat.
This is the second greatest trade Krause ever pulled off. In the fall of 1995, Jordan was back in the fold and the Bulls were aiming to regain the NBA throne after being knocked off in the second round each of the previous two seasons. But they needed to fill the void that Horace Grant left at power forward when he went to Orlando as a free agent.
So Krause sent center Will Perdue to the Spurs for their old "Bad Boys" enemy Dennis Rodman. The Worm wanted out of San Antonio because they tried to micromanage and control his flamboyant antics on and off the floor. Spurs management was ready to be rid of Rodman, too. They gladly took Perdue, a ho-hum center who never dazzled at the NBA level. No draft pick thrown in, no pick swap, no cash considerations. Rodman for Perdue, straight up. One of those guys is a Hall of Famer. The other...is not.
Krause knew that his zen master coach could handle Rodman's personality, and jumped at the opportunity. Rodman became the new Grant, and once again the Bulls had a Big Three for their second threepeat. The new-look Bulls went 72-10, and Rodman earned All-Defensive 1st Team honors. He led the league in rebounds per game in all three of his seasons in Chicago. The tattooed and hair-dyed enigma also pulled down the most offensive rebounds in two of those three seasons.
As Rodman's off-court antics became big headlines, most front offices around the NBA shied away from him. Not Krause. He saw The Worm as the missing piece to the puzzle, and executed a trade that set up three more championship runs.
Hiring Tex Winter is the second-best decision Krause made regarding his coaching staff. It's also one of the first moves he ever made running the Bulls. Jerry got the job in March of '85, and hired Tex as an assistant coach just a few months later.
Krause and Winter went way back, to the '60s when Winter was the coach at Kansas State and Krause was a student assistant at Bradley University. That's the first time Jerry saw Tex's infamous "triangle" offense.
This move. THIS MOVE. My God, Jerry deserves the Hall for this move alone. On draft night in 1987, Krause traded Olden Polynice (whom the Bulls selected 8th overall) to the Seattle SuperSonics for Scottie Pippen (whom Seattle picked 5th overall) in a deal that likely defined the NBA landscape for a decade.
Polynice was a highly-touted prospect from a strong college program at Virginia. He helped the UVA Cavaliers reach the Final Four as a #7 seed in 1984. In 1986, he earned All-ACC honors.
Scottie, on the other hand, was a lesser known commodity. Because of a late growth spurt, Pip did not receive any college scholarship offers. In 1983, he made the squad at NAIA's Central Arkansas as a walk-on. By his senior year, Pippen averaged a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. That drew the attention of a few NBA scouts, but most weren't that impressed considering the lower level of competition in the NAIA. But Krause saw gold to be mined when scouting the lanky kid. The length, the defense, the passing and strong drives to the hoop. Pippen wasn't a strong shooter, but Krause didn't care. Scottie, just like Horace, was his kind of people.
Polynice went on to have a decent NBA career, but nothing compared to Pippen. The always-reliable Robin to MJ's Batman, Scottie gave the Bulls the second star they needed to win six titles. He finished his Bulls career with 7 All Star appearances, 7 All-NBA selections and 8 All-Defensive selections. He, along with threepeat teammates Jordan and Rodman, is in the Hall of Fame.
Good call on that one, Jerr.
This is easily the best move Krause ever made while running the Chicago Bulls. Just like Tex Winter, Jerry was a fan of Phil's long before they became colleagues in Chicago. While working as a scout for the Baltimore Bullets, he urged them to take Jackson in the 1967 NBA Draft. The Bullets went a different direction, but Krause always kept in contact with Phil through his years as a player.
Phil began coaching soon after retirement, and sought NBA gigs for a long time with no success. During his playing years, he developed a reputation for being a member of the "counterculture" movement. Essentially, Phil was a hippie. That likely scared off NBA front offices. Instead, Phil spent the early and mid '80s coaching in the CBA and the Puerto Rican league. But in 1987, Krause hired him to be an assistant to Doug Collins.
Despite Collins' popularity among players and Chicago fans, Krause fired him and promoted Jackson to the head coach's chair in 1989. Collins was a fine coach, and many questioned Krause's decision. But Jackson needed just two seasons at the helm to get the Bulls from perennial Eastern Conference runners-up to NBA champions.
Phil, known as the "Zen Master", had special relationships with each of his players. For many of Jackson's players he was more than a coach. He was a father figure. He knew how to motivate them as individuals. He'd give them books to read that he thought would help them understand the game of basketball or their role on the team in new and better ways. Phil could control Jordan's fierce demand for excellence, and his ego. He could control Pippen's ego while getting him to embrace his role as the sidekick. He let Dennis be Dennis, on and off the court. He sent babysitters like Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler along when The Worm needed to go to Las Vegas between games to blow off some steam.
Jackson, despite his unique (and odd) way of doing things, was the perfect puppet master for a championship-caliber roster. He used the same techniques to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five titles, harnessing the talents and egos of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and more.
And nobody gave Phil a chance to run an NBA team until Krause. They had their differences. A large part of Jackson's coaching strategy was creating an "us against the world" mentality in his players. Management (and Krause, specifically) fit into the "world" part of that saying.
Jordan, Jackson's star pupil, famously refuted Krause's notion that organizations win championships at his Hall of Fame induction. But in this case, unlike all others while he owned Chicago, Bulls fans can and should disagree with the GOAT. The players went out and played, and kudos to them for doing so. But if Krause didn't put the right players together, or give them the right coaches to lead the way, there's no way Jordan and the Bulls win six titles. Zip. Zero. No chance.
Jordan may have finally given his punching bag "Crumbs" some overdue respect at the news of his passing, but it's not enough. Jerry Krause deserves the Hall. Anyone who disagrees is misinformed or wrongfully still bitter about a dynasty that had to end. Rather than wishing it lasted longer, Bulls fans should be thanking Krause for the fact that it happened. Phil may have been the zen master, but Krause was the man behind the curtain for all of that glorious '90s magic in Chicago.
RIP, Jerry. And thanks for everything.
Keeping the band together was impossible, but for some reason fans still blamed Krause. Perhaps because the public already saw him as the organization's punching bag; a short, chubby guy whom Jordan nicknamed "Crumbs" for his poor eating habits and slovenly appearance. Back in the good ol' days, it was hard for fans to side with anyone other than MJ. The man was a living god in Chicago. If he hated Krause, we had to hate him too. By default. It was misguided hate and frustration from a fanbase that so badly wanted to see the dynasty continue.
Now that Krause is gone and so much time has passed, it's necessary to remember and appreciate all of his work that made the dynasty possible. In honor of his memory, let's look back at some of Jerry's best moves as general manager of the Bulls during the '80s and '90s.
Counting down the Top 10:
10. Signed John Paxson & Ron Harper
Finding a point guard who can play alongside the best shooting guard in the game is no easy task, but Krause hit it out of the park twice. That's why there's a tie at #10.
In October of 1985, just six months into his GM job, Jerry signed free agent John Paxson. Upon Paxson's arrival, Jordan was being placed on the shelf with the broken foot he suffered at the beginning of his second season. When MJ returned later that season, he and Paxson initially clashed in the backcourt. But Paxson adjusted to Jordan, who demanded the ball much more than the average shooting guard. On some possessions, he initiated the triangle offense. On others, he served as an off-guard around the perimeter for a kick-out when MJ or Pippen drove and were double-teamed. And of course - most importantly - sometimes he swallowed his pride and just let Jordan be Jordan.
Paxson wasn't a hot commodity after his first two NBA seasons in San Antonio. But like so many other times throughout his career, Krause saw something special that other scouts or managers didn't. Paxson spent nine seasons in Chicago, playing a crucial role on the first three championship teams. Despite fans' current frustrations with Pax in his front office position, no one will ever forget: "Paxson...Yaaas! He hit the 3!"
In the fall of 1994, with Jordan playing baseball and John Paxson readying for retirement, Krause signed free agent guard Ron Harper. Krause loved Harper for his length, athleticism and defensive prowess. He wasn't a great range shooter, but he was deadly from midrange and could attack the basket and distribute beautifully in traffic.
Upon Jordan's return in 1995, Harper - just like Paxson - took a back seat to his backcourt teammate. Harper was used to being a primary scorer on his previous teams in Los Angeles and Cleveland. But between Jordan and Pippen's touches, Harper's scoring numbers fell dramatically in Chicago. He didn't complain, just played his role. With all of their length and tenacity, MJ, Pip and Harper created the league's most maddeningly stingy perimeter defense that helped the team to its second threepeat. And Krause was right to love Harper's toughness, despite having the dreaded ACL tear on his injury resume. Ron played 80, 76 and 82 regular season games in those threepeat years.
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9. Hired Doug Collins
After a disappointing 1985-86 campaign that saw the Bulls go 30-52, Krause fired head coach Stan Albeck after just one season and hired Doug Collins as his replacement. Collins had a respectable playing career in the NBA but minimal credentials as a coach when Krause hired him. He served briefly as an assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State. That's it. But Krause saw potential, and took a risk.
That risk paid off. Under Collins, the Bulls saw 10-win improvements in each of the next two seasons. In 1988, they beat the heavily favored Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, they knocked off Cleveland and New York to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1975. Collins would be replaced by his assistant Phil Jackson after three seasons in charge, and it was Jackson who went on to coach all six of the title teams. But were it not for Krause taking a chance on the unproven Collins, the young Bulls may not have taken those necessary steps towards becoming legitimate contenders.
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8. Drafted Horace Grant
Horace Grant was not a big name entering the 1987 NBA Draft after playing college ball at Clemson. Per usual, Krause didn't care what other scouts were saying. In Grant, he saw an elite interior defender and a great athlete with offensive potential. The 10th overall pick in the draft, Horace played his rookie season behind veteran power forward Charles Oakley. But Krause believed in the Clemson kid, and the Oakley trade in the summer of '88 (we'll get to that later) gave Grant his chance to shine.
Horace quickly became the team's reliable third scoring option behind Jordan and his fellow '87 draft product Scottie Pippen. His defense and rebounding skills rivaled the best big men in the league. Two of his four selections to the All-Defensive Team came as a member of the Bulls, including the 1992-93 season that completed the first threepeat. After Paxson's three pointer in the '93 Finals, Grant sealed the title by blocking the shot of Suns guard Kevin Johnson as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Kudos to Krause for drafting Grant, who fit into his "OKP" (Our Kind of People) criteria despite being a fairly unknown prospect.
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7. Hired Johnny Bach
In the summer of 1986, Krause hired Johnny Bach to be an assistant to new head coach Doug Collins. Bach was a defensive specialist who helped mold the defensive games of the Bulls' initial Big Three of Jordan, Pippen and Grant. Collectively, they spearheaded Bach's "Doberman Defense" that became feared throughout the league.
Grant praised Bach for building the trust that existed between Bulls teammates on the defensive end.
Here's what Jordan had to say about Bach when he passed away in January of last year:"You had to be athletic to play it but you know what that Doberman defense was built on? Trust. If Michael went for a steal and didn't get it, he knew Scottie and I would have his back. Who created that trust? Johnny." - Horace Grant
Bach wasn't just a great basketball mind. He was a decorated war veteran, who often used military references in practices, pregame talks and film sessions to motivate his players. Before joining the Bulls coaching staff, Bach served as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors from 1983-86. During those three seasons, the Warriors went 89-157. They finished dead last in the Western Conference twice and failed to make the playoffs in any of Bach's three years at the helm. Despite that ugly resume, Krause knew Bach would be a great compliment to his staff and hired him anyway."Coach Bach was truly one of the greatest basketball minds of all-time.He taught me so much, encouraged me, worked with me and really helped to mold my professional game. Without him, I don't know that we would've won our first three championships." - Michael Jordan
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6. Scouted/Drafted Toni Kukoc
Krause took a big risk by selecting Toni Kukoc in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft. Not only were European players' NBA ceilings harder to judge against their overseas opponents, there was no guarantee Kukoc would ever leave Europe and come to Chicago.
While Krause feverishly pursued Toni Kukoc in the early '90s, Jordan and Pippen mocked and scolded him for showing Kukoc more love than the stars that were actively winning the organization championships. In fact, the Bulls' dynamic duo made a point of harassing and dominating Kukoc when the Dream Team played against Croatia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
But after Jordan's first retirement in 1993, Krause finally got Kukoc to come on board. The combo forward earned All-Rookie 2nd Team honors. Kukoc quickly won over the hearts of Bulls fans with his versatile offensive skillset and dorky smile. As Phil Jackson's first man off the bench, Kukoc gave the Bulls one of the deadliest second units in the NBA. After their historic 72-10 season in 1995-96, Toni won the Sixth Man of the Year award. Jordan and Pippen quickly gained respect and appreciation for the kid they tried to embarrass just a few years earlier. On any nights when either Jordan or Pippen was injured or not playing well, Kukoc picked up the slack.
It's hard to see the Bulls completing that second threepeat without Kukoc, and there's no way Kukoc comes to Chicago without Krause.
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5. Traded Charles Oakley For Bill Cartwright
Jordan fought Krause hard on this one. Jordan and Charles Oakley had become not just in-sync teammates but very good friends off the court. But in the summer of 1988, Krause traded Oakley to the New York Knicks for veteran center Bill Cartwright.
Cartwright wanted a change of scenery after years of playing behind Patrick Ewing in New York. The Bulls had long coveted a legitimate starting center who could score in the low post and shore up the interior defense. Oakley was a superb rebounder (he led the NBA in total rebounds in '87 and '88) but he was only 6'8. At 7'1, Cartwright gave the Bulls some much-needed size and toughness to contend with the giants (McHale, Parish, Laimbeer, Mahorn) of Eastern Conference powerhouses Boston and Detroit.
Jordan may have hated the trade at the time, but he has since admitted it was the right move. If Krause doesn't pull the trigger on that deal and finally get the Bulls a reliable center, odds are they don't get that first threepeat.
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4. Traded Will Perdue For Dennis Rodman
This is the second greatest trade Krause ever pulled off. In the fall of 1995, Jordan was back in the fold and the Bulls were aiming to regain the NBA throne after being knocked off in the second round each of the previous two seasons. But they needed to fill the void that Horace Grant left at power forward when he went to Orlando as a free agent.
So Krause sent center Will Perdue to the Spurs for their old "Bad Boys" enemy Dennis Rodman. The Worm wanted out of San Antonio because they tried to micromanage and control his flamboyant antics on and off the floor. Spurs management was ready to be rid of Rodman, too. They gladly took Perdue, a ho-hum center who never dazzled at the NBA level. No draft pick thrown in, no pick swap, no cash considerations. Rodman for Perdue, straight up. One of those guys is a Hall of Famer. The other...is not.
Krause knew that his zen master coach could handle Rodman's personality, and jumped at the opportunity. Rodman became the new Grant, and once again the Bulls had a Big Three for their second threepeat. The new-look Bulls went 72-10, and Rodman earned All-Defensive 1st Team honors. He led the league in rebounds per game in all three of his seasons in Chicago. The tattooed and hair-dyed enigma also pulled down the most offensive rebounds in two of those three seasons.
As Rodman's off-court antics became big headlines, most front offices around the NBA shied away from him. Not Krause. He saw The Worm as the missing piece to the puzzle, and executed a trade that set up three more championship runs.
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3. Hired Tex Winter
Hiring Tex Winter is the second-best decision Krause made regarding his coaching staff. It's also one of the first moves he ever made running the Bulls. Jerry got the job in March of '85, and hired Tex as an assistant coach just a few months later.
Krause and Winter went way back, to the '60s when Winter was the coach at Kansas State and Krause was a student assistant at Bradley University. That's the first time Jerry saw Tex's infamous "triangle" offense.
"I liked what Tex did. I thought, 'Boy, if he ever got good players that offense would be something.' " - Jerry KrauseEven while Krause spent time as a baseball scout, he still kept in touch with Winter. Winter would go on to briefly coach the Houston Rockets (51-78 record) before returning to the collegiate level at Northwestern and Long Beach State. When Krause called him in '85, Winter hadn't coached in two years and was contemplating retirement. But the giddy little kid who was enamored with the triangle offense was now running an NBA team, and he wanted to see Tex teach his craft to the Bulls' young roster. It took time, and the right head coach, but Winter's offensive system became a key to Chicago's dynasty. When Jordan, Pippen and their sidekicks ran it to perfection, it wasn't basketball. It was art. It remains the most complicated offense in basketball, and not everybody can pull it off. Just ask Phil Jackson, whose Knicks have failed to grasp the triangle's intricacies for several seasons. Sadly, he can't call his buddy Tex for help. The master of the triangle suffered a stroke in 2009 that left him severely disabled. Winter deservedly entered the Hall of Fame in 2011. He'll go down as one of the best minds and teachers in basketball, and Krause is the guy who brought him to Chicago.
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2. Traded Olden Polynice For Scottie Pippen
This move. THIS MOVE. My God, Jerry deserves the Hall for this move alone. On draft night in 1987, Krause traded Olden Polynice (whom the Bulls selected 8th overall) to the Seattle SuperSonics for Scottie Pippen (whom Seattle picked 5th overall) in a deal that likely defined the NBA landscape for a decade.
Polynice was a highly-touted prospect from a strong college program at Virginia. He helped the UVA Cavaliers reach the Final Four as a #7 seed in 1984. In 1986, he earned All-ACC honors.
Scottie, on the other hand, was a lesser known commodity. Because of a late growth spurt, Pip did not receive any college scholarship offers. In 1983, he made the squad at NAIA's Central Arkansas as a walk-on. By his senior year, Pippen averaged a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. That drew the attention of a few NBA scouts, but most weren't that impressed considering the lower level of competition in the NAIA. But Krause saw gold to be mined when scouting the lanky kid. The length, the defense, the passing and strong drives to the hoop. Pippen wasn't a strong shooter, but Krause didn't care. Scottie, just like Horace, was his kind of people.
Polynice went on to have a decent NBA career, but nothing compared to Pippen. The always-reliable Robin to MJ's Batman, Scottie gave the Bulls the second star they needed to win six titles. He finished his Bulls career with 7 All Star appearances, 7 All-NBA selections and 8 All-Defensive selections. He, along with threepeat teammates Jordan and Rodman, is in the Hall of Fame.
Good call on that one, Jerr.
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1. Hired/Promoted Phil Jackson
This is easily the best move Krause ever made while running the Chicago Bulls. Just like Tex Winter, Jerry was a fan of Phil's long before they became colleagues in Chicago. While working as a scout for the Baltimore Bullets, he urged them to take Jackson in the 1967 NBA Draft. The Bullets went a different direction, but Krause always kept in contact with Phil through his years as a player.
Phil began coaching soon after retirement, and sought NBA gigs for a long time with no success. During his playing years, he developed a reputation for being a member of the "counterculture" movement. Essentially, Phil was a hippie. That likely scared off NBA front offices. Instead, Phil spent the early and mid '80s coaching in the CBA and the Puerto Rican league. But in 1987, Krause hired him to be an assistant to Doug Collins.
Despite Collins' popularity among players and Chicago fans, Krause fired him and promoted Jackson to the head coach's chair in 1989. Collins was a fine coach, and many questioned Krause's decision. But Jackson needed just two seasons at the helm to get the Bulls from perennial Eastern Conference runners-up to NBA champions.
Phil, known as the "Zen Master", had special relationships with each of his players. For many of Jackson's players he was more than a coach. He was a father figure. He knew how to motivate them as individuals. He'd give them books to read that he thought would help them understand the game of basketball or their role on the team in new and better ways. Phil could control Jordan's fierce demand for excellence, and his ego. He could control Pippen's ego while getting him to embrace his role as the sidekick. He let Dennis be Dennis, on and off the court. He sent babysitters like Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler along when The Worm needed to go to Las Vegas between games to blow off some steam.
Jackson, despite his unique (and odd) way of doing things, was the perfect puppet master for a championship-caliber roster. He used the same techniques to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five titles, harnessing the talents and egos of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and more.
And nobody gave Phil a chance to run an NBA team until Krause. They had their differences. A large part of Jackson's coaching strategy was creating an "us against the world" mentality in his players. Management (and Krause, specifically) fit into the "world" part of that saying.
Jordan, Jackson's star pupil, famously refuted Krause's notion that organizations win championships at his Hall of Fame induction. But in this case, unlike all others while he owned Chicago, Bulls fans can and should disagree with the GOAT. The players went out and played, and kudos to them for doing so. But if Krause didn't put the right players together, or give them the right coaches to lead the way, there's no way Jordan and the Bulls win six titles. Zip. Zero. No chance.
Jordan may have finally given his punching bag "Crumbs" some overdue respect at the news of his passing, but it's not enough. Jerry Krause deserves the Hall. Anyone who disagrees is misinformed or wrongfully still bitter about a dynasty that had to end. Rather than wishing it lasted longer, Bulls fans should be thanking Krause for the fact that it happened. Phil may have been the zen master, but Krause was the man behind the curtain for all of that glorious '90s magic in Chicago.
RIP, Jerry. And thanks for everything.
