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The Phil Jackson-Krause-MJ story

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by gettinbranded, Jan 21, 2002.

  1. gettinbranded

    gettinbranded Member

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    ON PRO BASKETBALL
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sam Smith
    Dynasty-dasher back at scene of the crime

    January 19, 2002

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    E-mail this story
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    So, is Michael Jordan going to be booed here?

    He said he'd never play for any coach other than Phil Jackson. Said he'd never play for any team other than the Bulls. Said he'd always be a Chicagoan. Hey, he said he'd never play in the United Center again.

    We know Michael Jordan says a lot of things. But when Jordan returns to Chicago on Saturday to play against the Bulls in another uniform, we know we'll be seeing the greatest player in Chicago sports history.

    Cheer Jordan, loud and long. No one has done as much for Chicago sports—or ever will—as Jordan. He's responsible for the greatest sports success in Chicago's history.

    And know this: Jordan also is responsible for the breakup of the Bulls after their sixth NBA championship in 1998.

    Not Jerry Krause or Phil Jackson or Jerry Reinsdorf or Scottie Pippen. It was Jordan alone who ended the Bulls' dynasty.

    It makes sense, really, because it was Jordan who started it all and without Jordan there would not have been a dynasty. Or even a championship.

    But to finger anyone but Jordan for its premature conclusion is the product of frustration, bitterness, sloppy speculation, bad information and Krause-hating.

    The Bulls' actions after the fifth championship, in 1996-97, suggest that management, despite Krause's behavior and beliefs, wasn't about to end the run. Krause might even have kept the team from the morass it has fallen into the last few years if ownership had listened to him in 1997.

    Boston's Rick Pitino, looking for a quick fix then, wanted Pippen. Boston had agreed; it was the Bulls who backed out. The offer was for Boston's two No. 1 draft picks, No. 3 and No. 6, in that year's draft. There was a separate deal that would have yielded another pick in the top 10. Krause's plan was to draft Tracy McGrady, Ron Mercer and a big man such as Danny Fortson or Austin Croshere.

    Would the Bulls have fallen as they have if they had made that deal? Of course, Jordan would have quit then along with Jackson, and the dynasty would have been over. But Reinsdorf insisted the Bulls try to win as long as they had a chance, which meant keeping the team together.

    Despite conventional wisdom and Krause's boast about organizations winning championships, there was no plan to break up the team after the 1997-98 season. It's true Jackson said he was leaving, primarily for personal and family reasons, but he urged Jordan to stay and told him not to tie his future to Jackson's. He told Jordan he had several good years remaining and could win one or two more championships.

    But, as in 1993, Jordan was burned out. He'd had enough of his teammates and the NBA. Heck, Jordan and his father had talked of quitting in 1991 after he'd won one championship so Jordan could try baseball. The fact is, Reinsdorf talked casually with Jordan about having some role with the Bulls after he retired, but Jordan wanted to get away from basketball.

    Jordan told friends he'd had enough of Pippen and could not play with him again. The two haven't spoken in years. Jordan and Jackson were furious with Pippen when Pippen waited until just before the 1997-98 season began to have foot surgery, then announced in November he'd never wear a Bulls uniform again.

    Jordan said he couldn't stand the sight of Luc Longley fumbling the ball anymore and having to take care of and cover up for the antics of Dennis Rodman. Jordan was done, and when he cut his finger in an accident just before he announced his retirement in January 1999, he took it as a sign he'd done the right thing. Jordan believed he wouldn't be able to play effectively, and he still can't grip a ball as he once did.

    But had Jordan wanted to continue in Chicago, he could have. And who doubts the Bulls would have won a seventh championship in the lockout-shortened season?

    The new labor agreement even provided a clause for Jordan to be exempt from the salary-cap ceiling, establishing a 5 percent raise from his $33.14 million annual salary. Remember, this is the organization that paid Jordan more than $30 million per season for two years, that gave him a job in minor-league baseball when he clearly wasn't qualified and still paid him his full basketball salary.

    He was the only player ever to have his contract torn up and renegotiated by Reinsdorf, and he started the era of exploding salaries with that unheard of $25 million deal in 1995. It's hard to imagine all of a sudden they were pushing him away. For what? To appease Krause?

    Sure, Krause was a nuisance. He bothered Jordan and drove Jackson to distraction. But he didn't run the franchise. And he couldn't have run anyone out. Neither Jordan nor Jackson negotiated his contract with Krause, and neither had to answer directly to Krause.

    The Bulls were prepared to keep the team together as long as Jordan would stay. And players like Pippen could not have gotten the deals they did without the Bulls' help. The most Pippen could have received from Houston in 1999 was $36 million over four years. Thanks to a Bulls sign-and-trade, he got double that. But had Jordan stayed, Pippen would have been offered up to $15 million per season, and probably would have remained with the Bulls.

    Jordan was told the team would even bring back Rodman if Jordan wanted, along with all the rest, but just for as long as Jordan remained. And Jordan could have had the coach of his choice and would not have had to play for Tim Floyd. Jackson's top assistant, Frank Hamblen, would have taken over with Tex Winter and Jim Cleamons also on the bench, certainly a comfort zone that would distance Jordan from Krause.

    But Jordan was done, exhausted, ready to take his ball home and move on. It was a mistake, one Jordan came to realize after a year away and little to excite him.

    Could he have been in the Bulls organization? Perhaps. The Wizards handed Jordan $50 million in equity to come aboard. Should the Bulls have? It's easy to throw around $50 million of someone else's money. Maybe the Bulls would have done it if Jordan had said he would play. Charlotte and Milwaukee wouldn't when Jordan asked.

    Would firing Krause have made a difference? Perhaps, but how fair would that have been to the general manager of the team that won six titles?

    Jordan was done. Now he's back. He expected it least of all.

    So welcome back, Mike, and thanks for the memories.

    Copyright 2002 The Chicago Tribune
     

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