Netflix’s smash hit documentary ‘The Last Dance,’ which gave the world some unseen insight into the Chicago Bulls‘ dynasty, showcased Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s contempt for the team’s then-General Manager Jerry Krause. The superstar duo often hazed the team executive for some of his controversial decisions and blamed him for the team disbanding in 1998, after winning their sixth championship in eight years.
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In a discussion with The Ringer‘s CEO Bill Simmons, The Last Dance‘s director Jason Hehir revealed that he was motivated to display the bullying Krause endured at the time, and got virtually no pushback from Jordan’s camp, who had the final editorial say in the docuseries. While Hehir had free rein, Jordan’s camp did push back on one occasion and forced him to leave out one specific moment. Hehir revealed,
“There was a clip of Scottie [Pippen] in the training room with Michael [Jordan] and, I think, Ron Harper… He was saying something to the effect of when they win the championship, he’s going to take a cattle prod and stick it up Jerry Krause’s a** and give him a heart attack. And everyone laughed. And they were like, ‘Woah, you gotta take that out.'”
Hehir revealed that he chased down Dion Cocoros, the NBA’s senior vice president of content production, and pulled him off a train he was about to board, to try to convince him to let him keep the comment in the documentary. However, the 47-year-old’s efforts were to no avail as his request was turned down. Per Hehir, Jordan’s camp argued that there was enough material in the documentary to turn viewers against the late Krause. Moreover, Pippen’s comment was too unsavory and the late Krause’s wife, Thelma Krause, didn’t need to see it.
Jordan’s camp made the right call. The documentary fueled hatred against the late executive, especially amongst Bulls fans. During the team’s Ring of Honor night earlier this year celebrating the 1995-96 roster, fans inside the United Center booed Krause, which left Thelma in tears.
Fans and analysts have been highly critical of the documentary’s portrayal of Krause, who is no longer here to defend himself. In hindsight, Jordan’s camp’s stern decision to leave out Pippen’s revolting comment out of the documentary was apt.
Scottie Pippen’s disregard for Jerry Krause
Scottie Pippen’s disdain for Jerry Krause stemmed from the executive’s resistance to giving the Bulls superstar a contract extension. In 1991, Pippen signed a seven-year, $18 million extension despite Krause and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s warning that they wouldn’t entertain a renegotiation until 1998. Familial responsibilities blinded Pippen and he signed the extension, a decision that he would deeply regret later on.
Throughout the 1990s, Pippen was among the best players in the league, but his salary was dwarfed by almost every player of substance in the league. By 1998, he was shockingly the sixth-highest-paid player on the Bulls roster and the 120th-highest-paid in the league.
Despite Pippen’s comically team-friendly salary, Krause tried to trade Pippen twice. In 1994, he tried to acquire Shawn Kemp from the Seattle Supersonics and was willing to trade Pippen to acquire the young forward. However, the deal didn’t go through because Sonics owner Barry Ackerley got cold feet after fans threatened to burn down the team’s home stadium if they traded Kemp.
In 1997, Pippen was entering the final year of his disastrous seven-year contract and intentionally delayed getting his ruptured ankle tendon surgically repaired until training camp. In the background, Krause was plotting to get rid of Pippen for rookie Tracy McGrady, after milking five championships out of him. The deal never went through and Pippen helped the Bulls win their sixth championship in eight years, before leaving the franchise in 1999 along with Jordan, head coach Phil Jackson, and Dennis Rodman.
Krause never saw Pippen as anything more than an asset, which irked the Bulls icon. The two never saw eye-to-eye as the documentary showcased and Hehir revealed during his conversation with Bill Simmons.
