The 1990s witnessed the Chicago Bulls dominate the league. However, the Illinois side was not as great once the roster was dismantled. To keep the Bulls’ success going, GM Jerry Krause devised an overly ambitious plan to acquire Tim Duncan and two other superstars, as revealed by Jamal Crawford.
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Crawford was drafted by the Bulls as part of Krause’s master plan following the end of the Jordan era. Merely a few years later, the likes of Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry were also selected by the organization in the 2001 Draft. As per JC, the next step in Krause’s plan required the Bulls to add Duncan, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady to the roster.
“Krause had a plan. He had a plan to draft the young guys – me, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry – and he thought he was gonna get Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady. He thought he was gonna get those three to go with us,” Crawford revealed in the “Run Your Race” podcast.
Krause had an idealistic plan. However, other teams in the league also wanted their roster to include names of All-Stars such as T-Mac, Hill, and Duncan. The Orlando Magic was a serious contender to follow through with this plan. After acquiring McGrady, the Florida side failed to add Timmy D to their roster. Hence, they made a push for Hill.
With Krause’s plan miserably failing, the Bulls were left without any big names on the squad. And the exit of Michael Jordan and Co. resulted in a six-year playoff drought.
Jordan believed that he could’ve helped the Bulls win a 7th title
Even before the Bulls won the championship in 1998, Krause had made it crystal clear that he was going to dismantle the squad. By committing to remove Phil Jackson from the head coach position, Krause also enraged MJ, who ended up retiring after the end of the season.
However, during an episode of “The Last Dance”, His Airness claimed that the same core group could’ve possibly won a seventh title had they all been together just for an additional year.
“It’s maddening because I felt like we could have won seven. I really believe that. We may not have, but man, just not to be able to try, that’s just something that I can’t accept, for whatever reason. I just can’t accept it. Would I sign for one year? Yes, I would sign for one year,” MJ claimed.
The Bulls were still in the prime of their prowess when they retired in 1998. Had they been given another chance, Phil Jackson’s boys could’ve won a seventh title. Instead, Jerry Krause was irrational and chose to break the core up.
As a result, the Bulls immediately witnessed a dip in their production. Following a six-year postseason drought, the franchise only gained relevance once they drafted Derrick Rose in 2009.
