Who Takes Credit
Jordan took a shot at Krause during his induction speech, saying, “Jerry’s not here, I don’t know who invited him. I didn’t.” He went on to cite the organizations-vs-players debate. But Krause attests that he was misquoted when the story initially hit the papers.
“What I said was, ‘Players and coaches alone don’t win championships. Organizations do.’ That’s true. The writer who quoted me said, ‘Organizations win championships.’ Period…I got ripped. First thing, the writers went to Michael and Michael said, ‘What the heck is Jerry talking about? He ain’t sweating out there like I am. He’s not breaking his tail out there, I am.’ It was not that at all. We had great people throughout the organization. We really had good people, and that’s what I was trying to get at. It came out the wrong way.” – Jerry Krause
That sounds like a fair argument. Jordan’s argument of “players have to go out and play for the team to win” is also accurate, but Krause’s original comment was about crediting everyone involved, players included.
As for Krause finally getting recognized for his individual accomplishments – he’s on the Hall ballot again this year – he insists it’s about more than himself.
“Yes I have some ego – if you want to call it ego – about the drafts we made…players we drafted over the years who have made me proud for the scouting influence that I had on those drafts. Yes, it would mean a lot. I’ve got three grandchildren, the fourth one is about to be born in March. Grandchildren are important to me…It’s important for me that they see Grampy in the Hall of Fame. Does it mean anything to me personally? It’s vindication. Sure it is. But it’s vindication of a lot of people…who had faith in me. That means a lot to me, an awful lot.” – Jerry Krause
Jordan got his turn to answer the Hall call in 2009. Will the general manager he constantly teased and belittled get his turn in 2017? In this author’s opinion, it’s long overdue. Krause is more than a retired executive with great stories about the GOAT. He helped Jordan and the Bulls become what they were: legends of their sport.
You can listen to the entirety of Krause’s interview with Adrian Wojnarowski below:
To continue the Jordan/Krause conversation, follow me on Twitter @Bulls_Peck.
