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So let's say Krause ok's Jackson to stick around as coach. How much more would those Bulls have achieved from '99 onward?

Jordan still good was on the down turn at 35, Pippen was already having back issues and had been declining for a few years himself, Rodman was 37 or so and about to check out if not physically, mentally.

Why do people make it like Krause took away or stole future rings?

Yes

Who cares if they never won another ring? He stole potentially another year of Michael FREAKING Jordan still at an elite level from us.

Maybe they never win another title, but you run it back regardless. How often do you have the most popular team ever assembled? You let it die a natural death like the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the 80s. Especially considering 99 had no superstar talents in the draft & 2000 was probably the worst draft ever. Why rush that for no reason?

jimmy keys wrote:Maybe they never win another title, but you run it back regardless. How often do you have the most popular team ever assembled? You let it die a natural death like the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the 80s. Especially considering 99 had no superstar talents in the draft & 2000 was probably the worst draft ever. Why rush that for no reason?

I definitely see that point but ironically the fact we never saw the Bulls be defeated or on a slow decline became a big part of the legacy.

This shot became so iconic because it was the last shot Jordan ever took for the Bulls and it was in a winning championship game

D.Brasco wrote:

jimmy keys wrote:Maybe they never win another title, but you run it back regardless. How often do you have the most popular team ever assembled? You let it die a natural death like the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the 80s. Especially considering 99 had no superstar talents in the draft & 2000 was probably the worst draft ever. Why rush that for no reason?

I definitely see that point but ironically the fact we never saw the Bulls be defeated or on a slow decline became a big part of the legacy.

This shot became so iconic because it was the last shot Jordan ever took for the Bulls and it was in a winning championship game

Jordan wanted to keep running it back. What if they win again in 1999? The shot would be iconic regardless because it won the championship. No one retires because of some Hollywood storyline moment.

Yes.

Not renewing Pippen and Phil, while having MJ on board is insane.

Yes, he deserves the full blame. He was sitting on the greatest dynasty perhaps in sports ever and made a complete mess of it. He handled the Phil saga terribly, and the Krause show seemed more important than winning. Yes, it took the Bulls everything, from their deepest fibers to squeeze by the Pacers, and from that stand point you could say their time was over. Yet, he had two of the best players in the league and with Jordan you always have a chance. The lock-out could've given them the rest they needed. Furthermore, you are talking about a double three peat team, they deserved to defend what was theirs until it no langer was.

Krause did a lot of things good, very good I should say, but he bottled the biggest of them all and it cost him. Krause deserved more credit than he got, but he wanted more credit than he deserved. That said, seeing people spit on his grave is a terrible thing to see. You can criticise him all you want, deserved or undeserved, insulting a man who has no chance to defend himself or explain his point of view is uncalled for, no matter how incompetent you think he was.

No, it's understandable that a GM wants to break up a dynasty with the GOAT is his prime...

GTFO

Well he wanted to break the team up after the '97 season, so if he had gotten his druthers he would have been taking away at least one ring.
That alone shows that even if he made the right decision, it was more of a matter of lucking into it than prescience.

SWYM wrote:No, it's understandable that a GM wants to break up a dynasty with the GOAT is his prime...

GTFO

/thread

Yes it is.

Krause even planned well ahead of time to break up the team and made virtually no attempt to keep it together.

Unfortunately for Krause, this, and not his career as the GM for a 6 (or 7 or 8) time champion has become his legacy.

Petergrifindor wrote:Yes.

Not renewing Pippen and Phil, while having MJ on board is insane.

Yea, I know Jerry passed away some time ago and I don't wanna rip on him, but the ego on that lad. I mean dang, you got the GOAT, a top 30 player and potentially a top 2-3 coach and you dismantle the team... crazy.

The_Hater wrote:Yes it is.

Krause even planned well ahead of time to break up the team and made virtually no attempt to keep it together.

Unfortunately for Krause, this, and not his career as the GM for a 6 (or 7 or 8) time champion has become his legacy.

Yep, it's kinda weird. His ego was obviously bigger than the US, but he did a dang good job up to that point. Sadly, that's the world we live in.

While it’s incredibly stupid and I still don’t understand how it’s possible that the owner thought it was a good idea... I really don’t think the Bulls were winning another one and I think it probably helps MJ’s legacy to end on that note (not really counting the Wizards).

But... How is it possible to get rid of the championship team? He would get crucified for it now. It makes absolutely no sense.

Reinsdorf should get more hate for it though. He’s the guy at the top.

jimmy keys wrote:Maybe they never win another title, but you run it back regardless. How often do you have the most popular team ever assembled? You let it die a natural death like the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the 80s. Especially considering 99 had no superstar talents in the draft & 2000 was probably the worst draft ever. Why rush that for no reason?

The Bulls also should've done what the Lakers and Celtics have done after their championship runs have ended. They promote the teams history, and legacy, by bringing players into the fold. It builds up the franchise, which helps make it a places where players want to play.

Krause was part of management that didn't do that.

It’s warranted; especially when you look at his attitude behind his reasoning. It’s one thing to look at the team and say “guys, were at the end of our run,” because of losses, injuries or whatever else, but he was on this personal mission to prove it’s the organization and not the players.

That line he said to Phil always gets me — “you can go 82-0 and we’re not bringing you back.” Absolutely ridiculous. Maybe the Bulls don’t win in 99, though if their competition is just Miami or NY, then I’d bet on them making it out of the east, for sure (assuming they retain their core of MJ, Pippen and Rodman).

You can argue both sides. However, I think it was obvious with the issues they were facing. Pippen's unhappiness, Jordan getting older, etc.

Can you imagine breaking up Curry-Klay-Kerr after 2018? The Bulls trio was better than all 3.

Krause deserves all the hate

Meh. IMO the blame falls squarely on Reinsdorf - he could have fired or vetoed Krause. I understand that Reinsdorf is a loyal guy, but favouring Krause over what was still a championship team was a patently awful decision. So bad it makes you wonder whether Krause had something on Reinsdorf.