Think about it. Whatever happened to...Chris Shelton? Whatever happened to...Bob Hamelin? ...Dana Barros? ...Austin Croshere?
I know all of those players are "1-hit wonders." But seriously, what happened to those guys. I think there is one man who people say, at least in Chicago, whatever happened to...the most. That man is Jerry Krause.
But before Krause was picking Hall of Famers for the Bulls he was a baseball mind. He worked for the Chicago White Sox helping acquire Ozzie Guillen, Greg Walker, Kenny Williams, Ed Farmer, Greg Luzinski, and who could ever forget Tom Seaver.
Once Jordan left the Bulls and his Baby Bulls began to quickly crumble (Wow Ron Mercer and Corey Benjamin did not live up to the hype) Krause left Chicago. He found himself back in the baseball world. He began scouting, what he does best, for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland A's, Seattle Mariners White Sox and the New York Yankees and Mets. But now Krause is back home in Chicago. The White Sox recently named Krause the Director of International Scouting. Krause will be in charge of restructuring the way the White Sox scout and head up recruitment in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
It is good to see Krause back home. Hopefully he can help bring 5 more White Sox rings to the city of Chicago.
And Let Us Say...Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
Krause definitely got a raw deal with the Bulls. It's probably because Jordan doesn't particularly like him (remember the crumbs comment), but you still can't overlook the accomplishment of putting 6 title teams together. I personally think he should be in the Hall of Fame as a no brainer. Other executives are lauded for putting together teams that never even won a single title for crying out loud. Sure, he had MJ to start and that's a huge building block, but you still had to put the pieces around him to succeed, as a guy like LeBron James is learning all too well. Plus Krause was also responsible for giving Phil Jackson his start as a HC too. That's no small feat right there either.
ReplyDeleteKrause deserves a lot credit for those championships, true. The Rodman trade was a stroke of genius and an absolute steal. Oakley for Cartwright didn't sit well with MJ, but it was the right move.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Krause also let his ego get the better of him in the end. And as it turned out, he failed miserably in trying to rebuild the Bulls after Jordan et al left.
Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler? What was he thinking?!
And Krause WAS the main reason why the Bulls' dynasty ended a year or two early, IMO. Signed Jackson to a 1-year deal in 1997-98 and said to him, "I don't care if it's 82-and-0 this year, you're fucking gone." Emphasized that Jackson would be gone even if the Bulls won the title that year (which they did).
Kind of a douchebag. Smart guy. Big ego. Not very likable.