Chicago Bulls: 3 things you need to know before Ep. 1 of The Last Dance
By Josh Wilson
3. Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was power-hungry
The late Jerry Krause, general manager of the Chicago Bulls from 1985 to 2003, was power-hungry and, according to the first five minutes of The Last Dance, had a “little man complex.”
Krause wanted to prove himself and sure seemed like he wanted to be noted as the reason that the Bulls were so successful. Maybe jealous isn’t the right word, but he often made it a point to exclaim that it was more than just one or two people influencing Chicago’s dynastical success.
Coming off the heels of a repeat NBA Finals season, head coach Phil Jackson and star guard Michael Jordan were getting most of the credit.
Krause notably had been vocal about the organization and the collective output of the franchise being the reason for championships rather than one player or coach. He was once misquoted as having said that “organizations win championships,” but the thesis of the unit being greater than one player is something Krause stood behind.
That “one player” was always obviously Jordan.
Krause and Jackson did not have a good relationship, and depictions of their connection paint a landscape of the two working against each other more than they were working together.
He and Jordan were not very close either, and many of the transactions Krause made for the team over the years angered Jordan. However, Jordan later admitted Krause may have been right about one of the contentious trades that sent Charles Oakley to the New York Knicks for Bill Cartwright according to Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam.
It’s remarkable that the Bulls were so good given the friction and dysfunction between major stakeholders.
The 1998 season depicted in The Last Dance was the culmination of the discontent between Krause and Jordan/Jackson. It was a teapot reaching its boiling point, starting to steam.