Jerry Krause has been somewhat of a polarising figure in NBA, infuriating not just Michael Jordan but also the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances to win a three-peat. Back when Krause was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls, he had alienated Michael Jordan right after his draft in 1985. This was because he had traded Rod Higgins to Seattle Supersonics, which made Michael feel lonely. Krause had a good relationship with Lakers’ general manager Jerry West and had almost ruined the chances for a Lakers three-peat had he influenced West not to hire Phil Jackson. Lightning strikes twice we suppose.
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In the mid-1990s, the Lakers were transitioning. Jerry West was building a team with the aim to win championships. They had drafted a young prospect, Kobe Bryant in 1996 and got ahold of Shaquille O’Neal in the same year. The two would form a crucial part of the three-peat dynasty. The Lakers were on the verge of a three-peat victory in 1988. Alas, they were defeated as two-time by the Detroit Pistons.
There was a lot of animosity between all parties in this story– Jerry Krause, Jerry West, and Phil Jackson. Although Jackson was the brains behind Jordan’s two three-peats, Krause had sort of influenced West to not hire Jackson. As Jeff Pearlman wrote in the book Three Ring Circus,
“He [Jerry West] and Krause had been close since their time together with the Lakers in the 1970s, and during the Jordan dynasty, the Bulls’ GM would often call his Los Angeles counterpart to complain about Jackson’s arrogance, dismissiveness, rudeness. “[Jerry] told me in no uncertain terms that Phil was trouble,” West recalled. “That we should stay away from him.” Krause thought Jackson to be more than merely manipulative. He considered him mean.
Jerry Krause and Jerry West were not particularly keen on Phil Jackson joining the Lakers
As evident from the conversation between Krause and West, they were not keen on having Phil Jackson at the Lakers. However, things began to take a rapid turn after then-coach Kurt Rambis started losing his hold of the locker room. Pearlman, in his book, wrote,
“Within a week of the end of the 1998-99 season, [Shaquille] O’Neal made a demand of [agent Leonard] Armato. He called him and said, ‘Listen, tell [West] I’m not playing for Kurt. Nobody wants to play for Kurt. If Kurt’s coach next year, I ain’t playing.”
Even other players such as Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice had also wanted Phil Jackson to be there. West had no other option but to ring Jackson. He said,
“We have talent here. We just lack leadership and maturity. It’s probably not all that different than what you walked into with the Bulls.”
Surely, it wasn’t different either from the Bulls. Although there were growing differences, the players excelled the most under Phil Jackson.
However, Jerry West started feeling like he was being mistreated and lost. his position within the LA Lakers organization. He eventually resigned from his position in August 2000.
Jerry West left the Lakers organization after being mistreated by Phil Jackson
After signing his 5-year $30 million contract with the Lakers, Jackson immediately showed results. He managed to secure a record of 67-15 in his first season and won the NBA Finals against Indiana Pacers. The Lakers went on to win two more titles in consecutive seasons, thus completing a three-peat.
Jerry West complained about being mistreated and wrote about this extensively in his autobiography, West by West. He mentions,
“So one of the problems I had with Phil was this. His office was right near mine and when he would arrive in the morning, he would walk right past and never even bother to wave or duck his head in to say hello.”
Although the pair could somehow make it together for a year, things had gotten out of hand when Jackson screamed at West during the 2000 Western Conference Finals. When West tried entering the locker room, Jackson kicked him out, yelling,
“Jerry, get the f**k out, I’m not finished here yet.”
Jerry recalled several such moments of disrespect by Jackson, which made him leave the Lakers, after serving 18 years as General Manager. Speaking on such incidents, Jackson had exclaimed,
“In the process, I know Jerry was hurt by me asking him to leave the room. It has always been what I’ve done any time it got intimate or personal, to ask people that were outside, trainers and ball boys in particular.”
Furthermore, Phil earned more money than West, and their relationship as GM and coach was virtually non-existent. Although Jackson did make the batch of 1996 to 2002 called the Lakers dynasty, it came at a cost, including the loss of one Laker legend, Jerry West.
