Jerry Krause’s Legacy

Roland Lazenby is one of my favorite NBA writers. Lazenby has penned more than a dozen basketball books and has recently started blogging for HoopsHype.com. I picked up Lazenby’s book — The Show — last year and couldn’t put it down. The Show is a “mosaic of perspectives on the history and evolution” of the Los Angeles Lakers compiled by more than 500 interviews. Lazenby interviewed everyone from George Mikan to Shaquille O’Neal over an 18-year period and put together a chronological account of the Lakers. It’s an absolute must read.

Lazenby’s close friend Tex Winter wrote the foreword to The Show and Winter, Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Jerry Krause are the subject of Lazenby’s most recent blog.

Lazenby writes about Krause’s eye for talent and how he was never afraid to stand up to Jordan and Jackson.

“Jordan, you may recall, was the most intimidating presence in the history of the game, on and off the court. That was his gift and his curse, all rolled into one. It was his gift because he rode that Alpha Male nature to the heights of the sport, scaring everybody in his path along the way. The curse was that his talent transformed those around him into fawning groupies and sycophants. Everywhere Jordan turned, he encountered people eager to tell him what he wanted to hear.

Even Jackson, hugely intimidating in his own right, chose his words carefully and stepped softly around His Airness.

Krause, on the other hand, charged right in like the bull that he was, cocksure in his own view of things.

Krause was the one who just knew the Cinderella Bulls had to have Bill Cartwright to upgrade their center play with smarts and toughness. So he traded away Charles Oakley, Jordan’s dear friend and partner in crime, to get Cartwright. It was just one of several Krause acts that Jordan never forgave.”

It’s true that Jordan was upset at Krause for trading away his closest teammate on the Bulls. But Jordan addresses the trade in his book For Love of the Game and sounds anything but bitter:

“I loved Charles like a brother, still do, and I hated to see him traded. I felt like we were giving away too many years trading for an older guy who couldn’t stay healthy. I didn’t know anything about Bill’s personality. Woud he stand up against the Pistons? I thought we needed the kind of toughness Charles gave us because we still were trying to break through Detroit. But it turned out to be an important trade given where we were headed as a team.”

Jordan goes to say:

“I loved having Charles on the team, but Bill made the difference.”

Lazenby writes that Jordan, Jackson, and Krause haven’t spoken since 1998:

“Krause scoffed when asked if he and Jackson would be getting together any time soon for a reunion of those great Bulls teams.

‘I haven’t spoken to Phil since the last day he was with us in 1998,’ Krause said.

Like Jordan, it would probably behoove Jackson to slice off a huge piece of humble pie and give Krause a call. After all, Jackson is in Los Angeles trying to duplicate the incredible feat they all accomplished together in Chicago – to build a championship team around a 2 guard.

Krause is quite a student of the game and he loves to point out that Chicago holds a distinction among all the great basketball teams.

‘We were the only ones to build a championship team around a 2 guard,’ he offered, adding that even attempting such a thing is almost silly. ‘That’s what I’m proudest of. It’s the hardest thing to do, really, really hard to do.’”

Krause deserves credit for putting together Chicago’s championship teams. Krause acquired every player on the Bulls’ title teams except one — Michael Jordan. Jordan was already a member of the Bulls when Krause was hired as GM in 1985. And while it took skill to surround Jordan with the likes of Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and an assortment of unheralded veterans, the cornerstone — the greatest player of all-time — was already there.

Krause also deserves credit for hiring Tex Winter and taking a chance on Phil Jackson. But Krause always toed a fine line when it came time to give credit where credit was due. Krause wanted credit for putting people in position to succeed, and for their success.

Jordan:

“I think our respect for Phil and the general lack of respect for Krause is what helped pull the Chicago Bulls apart. Krause lied about little things my children would lie about. And for what purpose? To show who’s boss? We had one of the most successful teams in the history of team sports and this guy is running around playing games with his own troops? I never understood all that and I never will.

The relationship between Phil and Krause had been ruined before the 1997-98 season started. Phil told Jerry, ‘Stop feeling as though you’ve made all the right decisions. I’m just as much a reason for this team being successful as you are.’ That rubbed Krause the wrong way. He might have come from a different era, but I think Krause understood the depth of Phil’s impact on the team. He knew why the players liked Phil and he knew why we busted our butts for Phil. But Krause wanted to be the reason we played hard. He wanted to be the guy the players respected and talked to. When Phil signed his last contract, Krause told him, ‘I don’t care if you go 82-0. You’re not coming back next season.’”

Krause probably deserves more praise than he’s received for putting together both of Chicago’s dynasties. But he deserves just as much blame for breaking the Bulls apart as he does credit for putting them together. Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan were anything but saints (Jackson had issues with former Lakers GM Jerry West too), but they deserved more loyalty than they received. Jordan, Jackson, and Pippen deserved an opportunity to defend what was theirs until someone knocked them off their throne. Krause robbed them of that opportunity when he broke the Bulls apart after their sixth NBA championship.

And for what? The opportunity to accelerate the inevitable rebuilding process? The Bulls were 96-282 during Krause’s tenure following Jackson, Jordan, and Pippen’s departure. Free agents turned their noses up at the Bulls after seeing how Chicago treated a triumvirate that had poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the organization. Krause forced the second retirement of the greatest player of all-time and undervalued a coach that would go on to win another three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

That is Jerry Krause’s legacy … and rightfully so. Jordan, Jackson, and Pippen didn’t resent Krause because of his personnel decisions. They resented him because of the way he went about things. They resented him because he took them for granted and wanted more credit than he deserved. Krause may have stood up to Jordan and Jackson when it came to personnel decisions, but he couldn’t get out of their way when it mattered most.