It’s no secret that Michael Jordan often butted heads with Jerry Krause, the late Chicago Bulls executive. The latter was portrayed in poor light in the Netflix-hit doc, The Last Dance. Since then, fans have dug into the history of Jordan and Krause’s clashes.

One such instance is reflected in a book detailing Jordan’s journey according to the people who knew him. It uncovers an excerpt from Sam Smith’s 2014 book, There Is No Next, that shed light on Krause’s feelings about MJ. Bulls present owner, Jerry Reinsdorf’s comments on the feuding player and exec give a whole new perspective.

Bulls owner gave Jerry Krause a reality check on Michael Jordan

Jerry Krause’s job was to build and rebuild the Chicago Bulls team to win titles, which unfortunately met with numerous clashes of ideas. In The Last Dance, he is blamed for the breakup of the Bulls dynasty in the ’90s with the bitter exits of Jordan and his record-breaking teammates.

Over the years, several insiders have reported that Jordan and Krause repeatedly clashed. They’d often disagree about which player the GM would trade or recruit. Most notably, Jordan criticized him for trading his best friend, Charles Oakley, for Bill Cartwright in 1998.

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By most accounts, Krause seemed like a weighed-down GM trying to build a team. But as it turns out, the dislike was mutual. Jerry Reinsdorf, the Bulls, and White Sox owner, recalled in There Is No Next that Krause once considered trading Michael Jordan.

Krause asked Reinsdorf, “If I can make a great trade of Jordan that will guarantee us a championship, will you let me do it?” It’s unclear what title-winning goldmine Krause had stumbled upon or when this discussion happened. Reinsdorf may have been in a fix too as he had to maintain a good relationship with his team’s GM.

He, however, crashed Krause’s dream with the most diplomatic answer. “If you do this and we win a championship, you will be the Executive of the Year. But you’ll get your award posthumously.” So Reinsdorf basically implied that fans would annihilate Krause for ousting him from the Bulls whether they won a championship or not.

Despite his clashes with the GM, His Airness remained loyal to the Bulls. So did his teammate Scottie Pippen, with whom he shared a detest for Krause.

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Jordan and Pippen feuded with Krause

According to a Chicago radio host, Jordan and Pippen treated Krause like “dog s***” during their time. Whether this caused some animosity in Krause is unclear.

But Reinsdorf knew a Jordan trade at his prime was impossible. He revealed in the book that they did a quiet survey among Bulls fans.

“One of the questions was, ‘Would you rather have Michael Jordan and not win a championship or not have Michael Jordan and win a championship?'”  The fans had made their wishes loud and clear. They wanted Michael Jordan in the Bulls uniform.

Krause would’ve faced the backlash of fans if he traded Jordan back then. If this survey was conducted now, what would your response be? Tell us in the comments below.

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