4 Reasons NBA Fans Should Absolutely Not Hate Jerry Krause

If you only watched "The Last Dance" and didn't know a thing about Chicago Bulls basketball in the 1990s, you would think that former general manager Jerry Krause is the most incompetent executive who ever lived and was one dodgy move away from ruining a dynasty at any given moment. Most of the Bulls players and coaches in the ESPN documentary series have done nothing but rip Krause, which is odd considering the fact that he helped build a team that won six championships. The fact that he died in 2017 and can't respond in his own defense only makes this more difficult to swallow. If you look at the man's resume, you'll see how Krause helped build this team. While he surely did make mistakes, there are four big reasons that he doesn't deserve the harssh treatment he's received.

4. He Signed Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, and Steve Kerr

Dennis Rodman was the best rebounder in the league, but he was also just about the most volatile athlete in American sports in the mid-90's. Luc Longley was a lumbering 7-2 center, and Steve Kerr was a limited athlete without much of a game beyond shooting. Krause was able to pinpoint these three as perfect additions to Phil Jackson's triangle offense, and all three of them were along for the ride during all three of the Bulls' titles in their second three-peat.

3. He Drafted Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc

Scottie Pippen was a gangly guard out of Central Arkansas in the NAIA, not exactly a basketball powerhouse. Toni Kukoc was an Eastern European sharpshooter with no NBA experience, and stats that came against inferior competition. Krause foresaw Pippen's ability to play on the wing and become the greatest second banana in history, while Kukoc was often the tertiary scorer on several title-winning teams. Krause isn't nailing all these picks by randomly guessing, folks. He had a fine scouting eye.

2. He Replaced Doug Collins With Phil Jackson

Firing Doug Collins as head coach was not an easy choice, as he kept pushing a moribund franchise to the playoffs and made Jordan the best scorer in the league during the early part of his career. Replacing him with a first-time head coach in assistant Phil Jackson was even riskier, as having a tenderfoot triangle devotee in charge of coaching Michael Jordan could have ended in disaster. Ultimately, Krause's gut feeling was proved right, as Jackson brought six championships to the team -- more than Collins could have dreamed of. The relationship between the two men absolutely soured, but that doesn't erase a single bit of the success.

1. He Wasn't The Man Most Responsible For Breaking The Bulls Up

Krause has been branded as some kind of basketball devil for trying to replace Phil Jackson with Iowa State's Tim Floyd and break up the Bulls before their stars of yesteryear became old and ate up too much money. This plan was unthinkably stupid, but they don't get done in any event unless owner Jerry Reinsdorf approved it. Reinsdorf's penny-pinching ways, evidenced by the paltry contracts given out at different times to both Jordan and Pippen, are ultimately what caused this team to break up, while Krause and his own admittedly ridiculous ideas were made into the scapegoat.