SB Nation’s Video of Krause’s Post-Jordan Bulls Reopens Old Wounds
I was planning to write a piece about the video of Derrick’s Rose’s reaction to being traded from the Bulls that surfaced with the release of his documentary. But that was before another Bulls video dropped Thursday. SB Nation, which has developed such new, fantastic series over the past year as Rewind, The Worst and Beef History, just came out with its latest project: Collapse. So it was only a matter of time before they talked about the Bulls in the few years after they won their last championship.
Say what you will about John Paxson’s present-day Bulls, but remember that he cleaned up the even bigger mess created during Jerry Krause’s post-Michael Jordan years. For the five seasons Krause remained general manager, the Bulls achieved a .254 winning percentage with a 96–282 record. Before the current rebuild began, you had to go back to Paxson’s first season at the helm (2003–04) to find when the Bulls last finished below .400. So yeah, the end of the last century and the beginning of this one was a dark time for the franchise.
Watching this video made me realize how tough it was to still be a kid and watch both my favorite player retire (again) and see your team hardly keep anyone of value from the team that had just won its sixth championship. The Bulls were my obsession at that time, and everyone around me knew it. In fact, the morning after it became known Jordan was going to hang it up, my fourth-grade teacher saw me walk up to school with my dad and asked both of us, “Did you hear about the sad news?” To say the least, it was a crushing blow.
After the rest of the breakup happened, my sister and I were in a school talent show. It wasn’t anything spectacular — me dribbling a mini-basketball around in my Jordan jersey while my sister did something in a cheerleader outfit. Our introduction began with one of the emcees asking the students in the audience, “How many of you are glad that the Bulls are back?” I’m not sure how many students raised their hands, but I can’t imagine those who did were that enthusiastic about it, and for good reason.
For the next few years, it was disenchanting to see the likes of Mark Bryant and Dragan Tarlac, guys I had never heard of, inserted into the starting lineup. Draft nights were almost as bad, particularly when it came to the poor talent group that came out in 2000. I’ll never forget the Bulls having three consecutive second-round picks and, in order, selecting A.J. Guyton, Jake Voskuhl and Khalid El-Amin, the last of whom I only remember for a rousing rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” at a free preseason scrimmage that was open to the public. How was anyone supposed to get excited for these guys?
Even when the Bulls got the top pick in the 1999 draft, Krause ultimately screwed that up. Elton Brand was co-Rookie of the Year with Steve Francis, but two draft nights later, Brand was shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers for the rights to Tyson Chandler. It ruined an evening in which I had been excited that the Bulls had taken the local high school kid, Eddy Curry. But Krause couldn’t leave good enough alone, and I guess the heart wants what it wants.
That said, Chandler just wrapped up his 17th NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers, so, as the video points out, it’s not like Krause was incorrect in recognizing his value. It’s just that like Brand, Jamal Crawford, Brad Miller and the player formerly known as Ron Artest before him, Chandler was very raw, and it would take a few years and playing elsewhere before they blossomed into solid players with long careers. When you’re trying to bring along a young team, you need to surround those players with veterans can show you what winning is all about. Jalen Rose, Charles Oakley and others weren’t able to do that, mainly because on other successful teams, they were either role players as opposed to first options or simply younger and thus, more productive.
Like with much of Bulls Nation and others invested in the NBA, there was only so much I could take before the whole thing became background noise. The Bulls’ long sellout streak ended, and they barely got any national TV exposure unless Jordan came back to Chicago in a Washington Wizards uniform (which I still try to pretend didn’t happen). Honestly though, could anyone be blamed? And I had more important things to do, like going through the trials and tribulations of junior high.
All that said, while I hate reliving those days as a Bulls fan, it shows how long I’ve stuck with this team. If anyone can endure going from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in the blink of an eye, they deserve to be called true fans of that team. It made the slow resurrection of the Bulls under Paxson all the sweeter to watch. Though the Rose Bulls never won a title, they proved that while a franchise may fall far, it can always rise back up to what it was, or at least close enough.
But to have full appreciation for the best of the best, you also have to experience the worst of the worst. I was lucky in that I could watch my team win championships the moment I became a fan. Even so, the fact that I endured those horrible years right after and am writing about the Bulls today is the definition of perseverance. While I know I’m tooting my own horn here, I feel I deserve props even now as we’re at another moment in time when it’s not necessarily cool to be a Bulls fan.
Keep the faith, Bulls Nation. Better days, maybe with Zion Williamson, are ahead. We’ve been down this road before. The best can happen again.
