While Michael Jordan may have been one of the most dominating players since his first day in the NBA, he wasn’t the easiest player to manage, especially during the years when he couldn’t get over the hump. Just ask Jerry Krause, who faced blatant criticism from His Airness when the Chicago Bulls couldn’t get past the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990.
However, after finally overcoming the Bad Boys Pistons in 1991, courtesy of Krause gradually assembling the perfect team around him, the five-time MVP was willing to retract his comments made of the Bulls GM during the frustrating years of losing.
Despite MJ’s pressure, Krause took time
During the years of adversity, Jordan continually voiced his frustration, citing GM’s failure to surround him with the right talent and disregarding his input on the players who could be acquired. Nevertheless, undeterred by the constant pressure, Jerry meticulously built the Bulls into a powerhouse, steadily leading them to the top of the food chain in the NBA, all while believing in his vision.
Things commenced in 1987 when Krause cleverly orchestrated a trade for Scottie Pippen, the fifth overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics, in exchange for Olden Polynice and future draft picks. Then, he drafted Horace Grant with the 10th overall pick in the same draft class. In 1988, Krause bolstered the team’s frontcourt with the acquisitions of centers Will Perdue and Bill Cartwright. Lastly, in the 1989 draft, he drafted BJ Armstrong with the 18th overall pick, adding depth to the Bulls’ roster.
More importantly, even when Chicago faltered against the Pistons in 1990, Krause resisted the urge to make rash, sweeping changes. Instead, he made strategic adjustments to the roster, shipping out Charles Davis, Ed Nealy, Jack Haley, and Clifford Lett while bringing in Dennis Hopson and Cliff Levington.
As a result, with the main players on the team afforded more time together, the Bulls had a remarkable transformation. They ascended from being the 5th best offensive team in 1990 to being the best offensively rated team the following year and from a middling 19th defensively ranked team to a formidable 7th in the 1990-91 regular season.
Jordan himself saw the difference in 1991
Apart from personally experiencing all the players being in sync mentally, MJ explained that most players, having experienced the feeling of losing against the Bad Boys a year before, wanted to beat them.
“It’s just that we had never made the physical and mental commitment to do those things before. We made them crumble, made them scramble, made them come apart,” Jordan said. “That’s always what they’ve done to us in the past.”
In addition, when queried about his previous complaints about Krause, the six-time Finals MVP was also willing to reconsider them.
“I can reconsider my words,” Jordan said. “I can even eat them.”
While Krause may not have given in to Mike’s demands, he undoubtedly laid the path for MJ’s dominance to begin in the NBA.