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March 2010

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Jun

22

Proof He’s Sleuth in Scottie Pippen Draft Trade

Filed Under On This Day . . ., NBA, Loose Balls

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With the 2009 NBA Draft four days away, the Chicago Bulls hold the 16th and 26th picks and are in a good position to add some young depth to the organization, or even trade up if the right player becomes available.

Still, the 2009 NBA Draft isn’t likely going to be one that dramatically alters the course of the franchise, like the 1984 and 1987 NBA Drafts were for the Bulls.

Of course, with the third pick in the 1984 NBA Draft the Bulls selected North Carolina’s Michael Jordan, who would lead the franchise to six championships and go down as the greatest player in the history of game (a shocking development when considering that Jordan was expected to be a good but not great player when he left college).

In the 1987 NBA Draft, which took place 22 years ago today, the Bulls had their second most important draft in team history.

At least for one day in his career, despicable Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause would merit no criticism.

On this day, Krause pulled one of the greatest steals in NBA Draft history.

After selecting Virginia’s Olden Polynice with the eighth pick in the first round, Krause traded the center’s rights to the Seattle Supersonics, which picked a raw small forward from Central Arkansas with the fifth pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.

That player was Scottie Pippen, Krause’s greatest find.

Known as a scout who searched the earth far and wide for the unknown, unheralded, little guy, Krause struck gold with this trade for Pippen, who would team with Jordan for all six of Chicago’s championships, be one of the most versatile, all-around players in the game’s history, and end up as one of the 50 Greatest Players to lace them up in the NBA.

After nabbing Scott Pippen — as he was described by NBA Commissioner David Stern — Krause followed up by drafting Clemson’s Horace Grant with the 10th pick in the first round of the 1987 NBA Draft.

In the matter of three picks, Krause had unknowingly assembled the key supporting players who would help take Jordan and the Bulls to a championship level.

While Grant would leave the Bulls on bad terms following the 1994 season, the rangy power forward was a crucial element of Chicago’s first three-peat teams.

With his ability to chase the ball all over the court, Grant was vital in Chicago’s Doberman pressing defense of the early nineties. Offensively, Grant was a tremendous mid-range shooter and a force on the boards.

While there are many reasons to hate Krause, the 1987 NBA Draft almost makes up for all of his sins and poor behavior.

Without the 1987 NBA Draft, especially the trade for Pippen (whom Chicago ironically almost traded back to Seattle on the night of the 1995 NBA Draft), who knows if Jordan would have ever won a title with the Bulls?

Even if he did, would Jordan have won six championships without a Scottie Pippen on his team?

Not likely.

Sadly, Krause and Pippen would become bitter enemies during their time in Chicago, as would Jordan and Head Coach Phil Jackson with the General Manager.

During Chicago’s second three-peat, the Bulls won in spite of Krause, who wanted to move on from the dynasty and hire his fishing buddy Tim Floyd as the Head Coach.

A lot of the disdain towards Krause is more than justified; he was a very annoying and unlikeable figure who pined for too much attention rather than accepting and enjoying the greatness of Jordan.

At the end of the day, Krause always was that little annoying outsider who never got to be a part of the cool crowd in school despite trying hard to do so but ultimately only alienating himself that much more.

Krause’s ego ended up being his downfall in Chicago.

After the dynasty, Krause drove the franchise into the ground with terrible decisions (hiring Floyd, providing little talent on the court, trading Elton Brand, drafting Trenton Hassel instead of Gilbert Arenas, etc.).

Ultimately, it was the image that he portrayed as a difficult nuisance which made the Bulls an unattractive, unhealthy and unproductive place to play from the end of the Jordan era to Krause’s resignation in 2003.

Thankfully for the Bulls, John Paxson would step in as General Manager and begin to clean house, right the ship and change the culture, especially during the 2004 NBA Draft that netted the Bulls Ben Gordon and Luol Deng (when he had promise).

Still, for all of Krause’s warts, the 1987 NBA Draft stands out as his greatest achievement (remember that Rod Thorn, and not Krause, selected Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft).

Whether lucky or not, Krause got it right in recognizing the raw ability of Pippen and trading away an eventual journeyman in Polynice for the rights to a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

And then doubling up and getting Grant, the glue guy on Chicago’s first three title teams, was pure brilliance (even when the Bulls already had a power forward at the time in Charles Oakley).

While Krause would also give Phil Jackson his NBA head coaching shot, it’s safe to say that what he accomplished at the 1987 NBA Draft was him at his very best as an evaluator of talent rather than the miserable human being that Bulls fans knew him to be.