Jerry Krause Once Subtly Taunted LeBron James While Defending Bulls’ Frenemy: “He Never Complained”

The late Jerry Krause’s name hadn’t been heard in a while. Only recently did his name hit the spotlight again, thanks to the Chicago Bulls‘ Ring of Honor Ceremony, where Jerry’s mention infamously sparked loud booing from the crowd. However, the Bulls’ former General Manager’s contributions cannot be overshadowed. Under his wing, and in the leadership of Michael Jordan, the team won six championships.

It is no secret that Jerry wasn’t on the best terms with MJ, a strained relationship that dates back to the 1990s. Despite this, when push came to shove a few years ago, Jerry defended his ‘frenemy’ while comparing him to LeBron James.

Unlike LeBron James, MJ never threw shade at the organization

It was back in 2017 when Bron was playing for the Cavaliers. He was unhappy about the team’s 124-122 loss against the Pelicans on January 23. He hinted at his dissatisfaction with the team and the organization. Jabbing at this, Jerry implied that while working with MJ, he never objected to anything. “He never came to me and asked me to draft a player. He never came to me to ask me to trade for a player. Never once did that happen…Michael was smart enough to understand the organization, and he understood what we had to do as an organization…He never complained to me,” Jerry said.

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He believed that MJ was confident in his skills and talent and that he did not need anyone else to win his games. All of this came in the wake of LeBron expressing his frustration after losing to the Pelicans. “We need a f*****g playmaker,” he had said in the post-game interview. And although Jerry did not have the best relationship with MJ, he stood up for him.

Uncovering the Michael Jordan-Jerry Krause beef

It is widely known that the legendary GM had an ongoing beef with MJ. It was believed that he led to the undoing of the great Bulls dynasty. This was even more so magnified through the 2020 docuseries ‘The Last Dance,’ where he was villainized as the man responsible for the destruction of the team. This was mainly the reason that triggered the booing in the recently held Ring of Honor ceremony. Krause’s relationship with MJ began to sour when he traded Rod Higgins, alienating MJ.

Moreover, MJ was upset when Jerry informed the then Coach Phil Jackson that the 1997–98 season would be his last as the Bulls’ coach. Jackson eventually left in 1998. Krause, meanwhile, refused to work out a reasonable deal for MJ’s sidekick Scottie Pippen. By 1998, almost every important player from the Bulls’ consecutive championship teams left, and over the following four seasons, the team won only 66 games in total.

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The fact of the matter is that we will never get to hear Krause’s side of the story because he had passed on (2017) by the time ‘The Last Dance‘ (2020) was shot and released.