Old Bulls articles for Hou and our JR debate

[Kush77]

Here are some articles about the Floyd era and the end of the Bulls' dynasty.

This first one is about that press conference where the Bulls made and offer for Phil to come back while Tim Floyd waits in the wings to take over.

I told Hou I was wrong about 2 things. They never said a 1-year deal. No terms were discussed, just an offer to come back. And Tim Floyd was to be the director of basketball operations, not an assistant coach or "understudy" like I said.
But like I said in the other thread. I highly doubt that JR was going to offer Phil a long-term deal, or anything more than 1 year when they were paying Floyd a bunch of money for a created position. And at the end of the day the Jerrys knew Phil wouldn't accept so it was a total PR move. Here's the articles.


Floyd in front office_for now
Chicago Sun-Times - Friday, July 24, 1998
Author: JIM O'DONNELL
The Bulls have a new head coach . . . sort of.

In one of the craftiest news conferences in Chicago sports history, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf announced the hiring of Tim Floyd as the team's director of basketball operations.

Reinsdorf also made it clear that Floyd would be head coach of the Bulls someday. Yet Reinsdorf's words left open the door for Phil Jackson to return as head coach "if Michael (Jordan) can talk him into it."

If Jackson returns for another season, Floyd will stay in the front office, Reinsdorf said. If Jackson doesn't, Floyd will succeed him as head coach.

There's one problem: Todd Musburger, Jackson 's agent, squelched any chance of Jackson 's return.

" Phil 's not coming back," Musburger said. "When Chairman Reinsdorf suggested it, I can tell you there were hoots and hollers and big guffaws in my office. I think that it's very important we not fool around with the notion that the two Jerrys can talk Phil into coming back. He's very happy away from all of this right now."

As for Floyd , the former Iowa State head coach made his case to the media as his wife, daughter and friends offered moral support.

"Give me a chance," said Floyd , 44, who signed a five-year deal for an estimated $14.2 million. "If you give me a chance, I will give you time, I will give you respect and I will give you context.

"And please," he added, "don't call me Jerry Krause's boy."

Floyd has been a friend and a professional associate of Krause's for close to a decade. Speculation about Floyd being Krause's first pick to succeed Jackson has been recurring for more than two years.

Jordan said eight days ago he would not play for Floyd . Giving Floyd the title of head coach Thursday would have been tantamount to pulling the plug on Jordan's 14-year, six-championship run.

Jordan was playing golf Thursday. One TV station reported that he was "livid" at news of Floyd 's hiring.

But David Falk, Jordan's agent, when asked if there is any possibility of Jordan playing for Floyd , said: "It is my hope that is an option, and it would also be my hope that Michael would not foreclose that option in July."

 

[Kush77]

MJ shouldn't fall for cynical stunt
Chicago Sun-Times - Friday, July 24, 1998
Author: Jay Mariotti

Oh, so now they want to be nice to Phil Jackson , treat him right, extend the olive branch. It's a little too late for civility, fellas. If the Jerrys weren't so transparent, so calculating, so nakedly manipulative in their attempts to woo people, maybe Michael Jordan would give their cute scenario a chance and try to talk Jackson into returning.

But a peeved Jordan refuses to act as an intermediary, as he quickly made clear Thursday. And even if he did, the chances of Jackson returning as coach are "ludicrous," according to his amused agent, Todd Musburger. They realize, like legions of trained Bulls observers, that this latest twist is a mirage, a smokescreen, a bluff, a Reinsdorfian ruse.

More of the same disingenuous Bull.

Get real. The reason Jerry Reinsdorf named Tim Floyd as short-term "director of basketball operations" isn't because he and Jerry Krause want Jackson to coach. It's so the world doesn't blame the Jerrys for the breakup of the most popular global phenomenon in sports. The technique is known in the corporate world as Covering Your Backside. They know it well, but they fool no one.

Stupid, we are not. In a strategy out of a cheap PR handbook, they have transferred the onus of blame onto the laps of Jackson and Jordan. Now, when Jackson says he isn't coming back, Reinsdorf can claim he offered him the chance and was rejected. Now, if Jordan says he isn't returning because Jackson isn't returning, Reinsdorf can say he offered Jordan what he wanted and was rejected. Never mind how the Jerrys have jacked Jackson around in the past, how Krause drove the Zenmaster out oftown, how they've angered Jordan to the brink of retirement. This was a time for selective amnesia, convenient half-truths and merry celebration in the executive offices.

The Jerrys, after all, had won. Big Jerry proved his point, that he's the boss and can do what he wants, including make Jordan squirm. And Little Jerry got his college coach, the neophyte we have resisted like poison ivy, the fishing buddy who will take over as coach once Jackson says no or some derivative of stick it up your keister. Get used to it, people. After the lights go back on and the starters have been introduced, Ray Clay will mention the coach of the Bulls. It will not be Phil

"Don't call me Jerry Krause's boy, OK?" this Floyd guy pleaded. "And don't call what Jerry Krause does fishing, either."

We can accommodate both requests.

"Just give me a chance," he added.

That remains to be seen, based on a simple criterion applied to all in his profession: Can he coach? And a complex factor unique to Floyd in the context of sociology and sports history: Can he walk into a hostile and confused metropolis, one that doesn't understand why its dynasty is being disrupted, and ever be anything but the symbolic interloper who remained after Jordan, Jackson , Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman left?

In the wake of a strange, awkward news conference, we feel compelled to ask another urgent question of Jordan. Why, your Airness, would you want to stoop to elementary levels? Why would you want to risk losing the last game of your career with a rookie coach?

Floyd is going to be the coach next season, stomping and yelling and pacing like a banshee, destined to struggle as he assumes as mighty a challenge as a coach has faced. Pippen's back problems are more serious than originally believed, assuming he has any desire to return here.

The chances of a seventh title, under those conditions, are slight. If Jordan's heart eventually urges him to keep playing, his mind must remind him of the plain reality, a picture that crystallized when Floyd finally took the microphone inside the House That Michael Built.

The Bulls are finished winning titles. With or without Jordan. Like an anchor in a fishing pond, the truth finally is sinking in.

We thought we'd seen every imaginable turn and subplot in the long-running sitcom, "Bull-oney." Thursday, the saga one-upped itself to the heights of lunacy, to the point someone should give the Jerrys their own channel on satellite TV. In one sense, the show was better than any soap opera in the 11 a.m. hour. In another sense, it was yet another reminder of the anarchy that has come to overwhelm a wildly successful franchise.

After two years of rumors and denials, there he was, Tim Floyd , Big Man on Campus. So much for Krause's claims of "fiction writing," that the media were fabricating a story that was happening behind Jackson 's back all along. Not unlike the Lakers, Celtics, 49ers and Yankees, the Bulls should be able to attract an accomplished coach with many years of NBA experience. Instead, the Jerrys have settled for a freshman, someone they can program, someone who will stay true to their inner sanctum,someone who won't tell company secrets like Jackson , someone who doesn't have a proud agent who will tussle with them, someone who got low-balled by marketplace standards.

Not that Floyd didn't impress in a way. He flashed a battler's charm and a dreamer's will, a certain likability that should quell some of the civic anger if not erase the frowns. He knows the hell he's about to enter and, somehow, is willing to embrace it. You have to like that. Maybe he's crazy, maybe he'll fail, maybe he'll hear the echoes of Jackson the rest of his life. But he'll sure die trying.

"It's the greatest challenge in coaching," Floyd said in his gentle, Mississippi-rubbed drawl. "I can't imagine that there's a more difficult challenge in coaching today. But that's what I've been about. Challenges."

Not quite. A college job in Iowa was a challenge. This is Mt. Everest, guy. But the games will come in time. For now, Floyd has to prove himself in social ways, show he has the right respect for the dynasty and for the Hall of Famers associated with it. So far, he passes the test.

He said all the right things about Jackson and Jordan and their places in history, sounding genuine and honored. "I don't know if anybody can fill Phil Jackson 's shoes," he said. Without a pause, he said he would gladly step aside if Jackson chose to return, figuring the heir apparent's position is that special. "This is all about Michael's wishes," he said. He paid homage to Tex Winter, saying he wants to run his triangle offense. He said he "loved" Rodman's game, though adding "rules are rules." He played the role well, adding human touches along the way.

Of his late father, Lee, a college coach, he said: "I wish he were here. He taught me the great deal of fun you can have in coaching."

Of what Bulls fans should expect, he said: "Energy, knowledge and a love of the game. Expect a prepared and motivated team. Expect a defensive-oriented team that comes to play every night." He was smart enough to make a comparison close to a Chicagoan's soul, mentioning the '85 Bears.

He even cracked a joke about the pressure, saying, "I'm seriously considering bringing in James Carville as my fourth assistant coach." If Carville could get Bill Clinton elected and steer him through trouble, maybe he could help Floyd 's popularity in Chicago.

You came away thinking it isn't Tim Floyd 's fault that he's here. But you didn't come away thinking any of this makes a modicum of sense. We wish him good luck.

As we wave prosperity goodbye.

 

[Kush77]

Bulls' brain trust hatches a devious plan
Chicago Sun-Times - Friday, July 24, 1998
Author: Rick Telander


This is beautiful.

Jerry Reinsdorf and his creation, Jerry Krause, have put their heads together and come up with a way to shift blame for the dismantling of a once-in-a-lifetime team and make it_ta-da!_Phil Jackson 's doing.

For at least two years, the pair has let Jackson know he was standing in the way of the new order.

Michael Jordan might want Phil as his coach, might beg for Phil to be his coach, but no matter. Jordan is just a worker.

Management had, oh, 700 or so days to listen to Jordan.

But Michael is only an impediment to the brave new era.

Remember Jackson 's cryptic statement at the Grant Park championship rally a month ago, when he thanked Krause for putting aside "his plan" and allowing the Bulls to win another NBA title?

Those darn titles.

Even rewarding the squad with Dickey Simpkins as its stretch-run bonus baby couldn't derail the victory train this season.

Yes, we have known Tim Floyd was coming for so long that, impossible as it might seem, we actually have grown weary of him before he has taken a seat at a Berto Center desk or hung an NBA whistle around his neck.

Sorry, Tim . You wanted to take the high road through all this, remain the country innocent, but you got in the car with the conniving, big-city co-drivers, and now the route belongs to you, too.

There is nothing wrong or unusual about an organization in a highly competitive, quickly changing business planning for the future on a nearly daily basis.

The only time that becomes odd and counterproductive is when the planning is done during an exceptional phase_one blessed by blind luck or bizarre good fortune_as if the normal business cycle still is in play.

Nobody knew how good Jordan was. And remains.

But he is so good that he makes certain established business techniques plain wrong.

Not to acknowledge such is sheer ignorance_or arrogance.

If Jordan says he will play only for Jackson , you give him Jackson .

Whom does it hurt?

Do you not cater to genius?

Do you not give Michelangelo every hue, brush and helper he desires?

Reinsdorf says he has this "obvious solution" to all the Bulls' problems: Make Floyd director of basketball operations; let him deal quietly, respectfully and unobtrusively with "personnel matters, scouting and basketball business" for years and years if necessary; and offer Jackson his old job back as head coach.

If Jackson says no, why then, what is a poor chairman to do but elevate the humble intern to the top spot?

Oh, the "solution" is so conniving and seemingly ingenuous as to be almost brilliant.

But Chicagoans and Bulls fans everywhere are not so stupid as to let the pseudo-innocent proclamations of a wheeler-dealer such as Reinsdorf blind them to a simple fact: There is only person who can drive the greatest basketball player ever out of basketball.

Only one.

Reinsdorf.

Krause was virtually cackling with glee Thursday, knowing full well Jackson cannot come crawling back to the two men who don't think enough of him to invite him to personnel meetings.

"I'll tell you what," Krause said. "It's a good day. A good day."

Seeing him, you had to wish his stubby arms were long enough that he could pat himself on the back.

"Michael has meant so much to my life," Krause said, as if Jordan were some kind of therapist or lap dog.

Imagine yourself working at a job where your drooling successor and his giggling supporters pull all the strings, make all the deals, plot all the moves while claiming they are just there to help you.

Even a man with no pride at all would have a hard time at that job.

Jackson was not available for comment on this matter.

But he told me not too long ago he still would be the coach if management had asked him to stay with Jordan

until the reign was over.

Jackson 's agent, Todd Musburger, insisted Jackson will not crawl back, that this whole affair is a dirty trick by the Bulls' brass to avoid responsibility for what they have wrought.

"Nauseating comes to mind," Musburger said.

No, you can't get drawn into the Reinsdorf-Krause rhetoric.

It is seductive because they are smart men.

But it misses all the little things that make the difference between truth and fiction.

If Jordan does not return to the Bulls, do not blame Jackson .

Tim Floyd told his "friends in the press" to give him a chance. And then he added emphatically, "Don't call me Jerry Krause's boy."

OK, friend Tim . How does co-conspirator sound?

 

[Kush77]

Winter: Jackson , Krause better off separated
Chicago Sun-Times - Wednesday, September 2, 1998
Author: LACY J. BANKS

In 53 years of coaching college and pro basketball, Tex Winter never saw anything quite like the feuds between his two bosses, former Bulls coach Phil Jackson and operations chief Jerry Krause.

After reading Roland Lazenby's Blood on the Horns, one wonders how the Bulls could win six championships with so much turmoil surrounding the team.

"That was Phil ," said Winter, 76, who had a ringside seat and often tried to intercede as a peacemaker. "He managed to keep the ship afloat."

Winter sees a positive side to Jackson 's decision to resign after nine seasons.

"It's better that (Krause and Jackson ) are separated," Winter said. "It had gotten to a point where divorce was probably the best solution. It's just unfortunate they could not have found a common ground. Both of these men are very talented in their respective jobs. They just had their problems, and it takes two to tango and tangle."

Winter was in a unique position because while Jackson and Krause were his bosses in the team's managerial hierarchy, they also were disciples and fans of his basketball mind and the triangle offense.

"I did step in a few times and tried to get them to get along better," Winter said. "But this became very frustrating and very uncomfortable for me at times because I had to ride this fence as the man in the middle. I tried to be fair to both sides, or be a mediator. And that wasn't easy at all."

Winter is the last piece to the Bulls' coaching puzzle for next season.

Director of basketball operations Tim Floyd is positioned to replace Jackson . Incumbent assistants Frank Hamblen and Bill Cartwright have re-signed, and newcomer Jim Wooldridge has been added.

Winter will decide next week whether to accept the challenge of teaching his system to Floyd , who last week flew to Winter's home in Oregon to invite him to return. Winter was impressed after his first one-on-one talk with Floyd .

"I don't think there's any question that he's a good basketball man," Winter said. "And I think he's a good people person. His public relations will be very good. I like him. He's got a lot of energy, he's got a good personality, he's had a lot of success and this is a wonderful opportunity for him.

"The only thing he lacks is NBA pro experience. But you've got to start somewhere, and this is a pretty good starting point."

 

[Kush77]

Charles Barkley sums up the point I'm trying to make Hou. Sir Charles says it very well.


It's quitting time - Barkley: MJ won't be back, and the Bulls are to blame
Chicago Sun-Times - Sunday, December 20, 1998
Author: LACY J. BANKS

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Charles Barkley knows why Michael Jordan wasn't here Saturday night to assure a sellout crowd for the NBA players' charity exhibition at the Convention Center, and it wasn't because Jordan was golfing in the Lexus Challenge.

"Michael ain't coming back_he's retired," Barkley said during a pregame interview. "Remember you heard it here first. He's just waiting for the lockout to end before he announces it.

"That's why he's not here this weekend. He's retired, and he doesn't want to even come here and sit around for everybody to ask him about it."

Last summer, Barkley sang a similar unsolicited farewell song for Jordan, who chided Barkley in response.

"Barkley just doesn't know what he's talking about," Jordan said. "He's just speaking his opinion like a lot of other people. Everybody's trying to make up my mind and speak for me. But I'm capable of speaking for myself, and I'm the only one who will speak for me. I'm going to call Charles and tell him to shut up because I haven't decided what I'm going to do. I'm still examining my options."

Barkley confirmed that Jordan chewed him out when they got together for a subsequent golf outing. But now with Jordan passing up this game and making only occasional appearances in the negotiating sessions to end the lockout, Barkley just might be right.

David Falk, Jordan's attorney and agent, defended Jordan's absence and reduced involvement in the negotiations.

"Hey, Michael has single-handedly carried the league for such a long period of time that at some point he's got to be allowed to move on and do other things," Falk said. "When that happens, it's incumbent upon the other star players to pick up the burden.

"Sure, everybody would love to watch Michael play. But playing in this game would be contrary to Michael's public posture when he said earlier that he would wait until the lockout ends to make his announcement. He has been totally consistent with that position ever since. And we've got to respect that."

Meanwhile, Barkley wants to spare us the wait until the lockout ends, if it ever ends. He also has taken the league off the hook for Jordan's premature departure.

"He's not coming back because he's fed up with the way the Bulls have disrespected his wishes and disrespected him," Barkley said. "Here is a man who made it clear to the world that he wouldn't play for any coach but Phil Jackson . So what do the Bulls do? They chase Phil away, hire another coach ( Tim Floyd ), then ask Phil to come back when they knew he wouldn't.

"That's utter disrespect. After all that Michael has done for the team and the league, the Bulls and the league should have been doing everything in their power to make sure he could play where he wants to play and for the coach he wanted to play for and then give him a decent set of teammates.

"If there is any player who deserves to pick his coach and team, it's Michael. But no, the Bulls went on and hired a new coach, and it's clear to everybody that they're not going to bring Scottie Pippen back, either. So that's it."

On other subjects, Barkley, a free agent, said:

"I would love to play for the New York Knicks and have Patrick Ewing for a teammate. . . . Six clubs expressed interest in me before the lockout started. And each one is a capable contender."

"Yes, I still intend to run for governor of Alabama on the Republican ticket after I retire and work a year or two behind the microphone for NBC. I am also considering running as an independent because both parties are pretty much the same and aren't doing much to help poor people."

"President Bill Clinton has done a good job, and it's a shame they're trying to impeach him. But I don't think they will succeed, and they shouldn't because most of those guys sitting in judgment against him are guilty of the same thing. They've been getting a little (expletive) on the side themselves. They're all hypocrites."

"Yes, I'd like to be president some day. But I'll still be Charles Barkley. If I go to a bar with a nice young lady and some bum throws a drink on me, I'll still kick his (butt). Yes, President Barkley would kick his (butt) because I've still got to be a man. That's another reason why I like Clinton. He's a real man."

"I wish the owners would act like they got some sense and end this lockout so that we all can get back to work. This lockout is hurting everybody. But now it's a macho thing. David Stern has never had people stand up to him the way Billy Hunter has done, and Stern didn't know how to take that."

 

[Kush77]

It's all up to Jordan - No moves by Reinsdorf until MJ makes decision
Chicago Sun-Times - Friday, January 8, 1999
Author: LACY J. BANKS


NEW YORK One day after Phil Jackson again rejected an invitation to return as coach, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said Thursday his top priority is to re-sign free agent Michael Jordan and he won't name Jackson 's successor until he talks with Jordan.

"We'd like to have Michael back," Reinsdorf said. "Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, too. But you have to start with Michael. If Michael decides to retire, then that changes a lot of things. . . . But we're not going to make any decisions on any other players until we know what Michael's decision is. And that's not going to change."

It was Reinsdorf's first interview on league matters since the NBA lockout began July 1 and commissioner David Stern imposed a gag order on team owners and non-player personnel. The order was lifted Thursday after owners voted unanimously to ratify a six-year labor agreement.

Although Tim Floyd has been hired as director of basketball operations and Jackson 's eventual successor, Reinsdorf said he won't decide who will coach the Bulls this season "until I talk to Michael."

Here are highlights of the Reinsdorf interview:

Q: What about the chances of Jackson coming back?

A: I spoke to Phil (Wednesday). Phil was the first phone call I made after the thing was settled. In fact, I called him from the plane as I was flying in and asked him if he wanted to change his mind and if he wanted to come back. He kind of chuckled. We had a very nice conversation, but he told me that he has the next few months planned out and that he appreciated the call but he hadn't changed his mind.

Q: Why did you call him again?

A: Because I said I would. I always said that whenever play started, that I was going to go back to Phil and give him a last chance to change his mind. He always had told me he wasn't going to coach (after last season). For two years, he told me that last year was going to be his last season. But people change their minds. So I wanted to be sure. That's why I asked him again after the last championship.

Then (Wednesday) I figured, "Well, he's had the summer off. He looks pretty good from what I've seen on television. The beard is gone. He looks younger." I thought, "Well, maybe he has the itch again." So that's why I called him.

Q: Does that mean Floyd officially can be named coach?

A: No, because we still have to talk with Michael. And Tim has said that if Michael wants to play for another coach, that he would step aside for that coach. So we'll have to wait and see.

I don't know who it would be. I couldn't even speculate on that.

Right now, the next thing we have to do is just wait until we're allowed to talk to Michael and find out if Michael wants to play.

Q: And Scottie Pippen?

A: No, no. . . . I'm not even going to begin to answer or even think about that. First, I'm going to talk to Michael directly or through somebody. And after I know that answer, then we'll do other things. This new contract doesn't hurt at all or help bring Michael back because he's grandfathered. He can make 5 percent more than (the $33.14 million) he made last year. So money is not a problem.

Q: So we officially can say the Phil Jackson coaching chapter with the Bulls finally is closed?

A: I think so. Phil told me in no uncertain terms that it is closed. He told me what his plans are for the next few months, and they sound like they are pretty well set in stone.

Q: Do you feel then that Michael would play for Floyd ?

A: I think that's right. The last time I spoke to Michael was right around July 1. At that time, he told me that he had heard a lot of good things about Tim Floyd and to tell Tim not to take himself out of consideration and that whether Tim was coach or not . . . would not determine whether Michael was going to come back. That's what he said at the time.

Tim said that he would step aside if Michael had somebody else that he wanted to play for. I thought that, if it was OK with Tim and OK with Jerry (Krause), that if Michael had somebody else he wanted to play for, we'd certainly consider it.

Let me make it clear, though, that I haven't said to Michael, "You can name the coach." What we said was if there was somebody else you'd rather play for, tell us who it is and we'd consider it. . . . Michael had actually softened his stance (about playing for somebody other than Jackson ) before the Tim Floyd press conference. But I haven't talked to Michael since then (because) I don't have that many millions of dollars (in fines) I'd like to give away to David Stern.

Q: David Falk, Jordan's agent, said that before Jordan decides whether to retire, he wants to see what the Bulls do about re-signing Pippen and putting together a team that could win another championship.

A: Well, when I'm allowed to talk to David and to Michael, I'll talk to them about it.

Q: What's your message to Jordan?

A: My message to Jordan is for him to do what's going to make him the happiest. The one thing he should do is what he wants to do. . . . The negotiation over his contract will be very short-lived. The agreement is very specific on what we can pay him.

Q: How does this new labor contract help you rebuild your team?

A: I think it helps us because of the limit on the Larry Bird exception. There was no limit to what any team could pay to keep its own player. Now, other teams can't get too far off where we are if we manage our cap properly, which we plan to do. We also have other things that we feel will make Chicago a desirable place to play. So I think it will make us competitive in the free-agent market.

Q: Is it safe to say that if Michael doesn't come back, you're going to start to rebuild?

A: It's not safe to say anything. First of all, I don't make those decisions entirely. (Krause) and Tim are going to have an awful lot to say about it. Yeah, we have a Plan A and B and C and Q. But there's no point in speculating on what they are. The important thing is that we have to know what Michael is going to do. After that, everything will flow rather easily.

Q: What do you believe Michael will do?

A: I have no gut feeling. The last time I talked to Michael, he was frazzled and worn out after the playoffs. At that time, he didn't think he was going to play (again). But now he's had a whole summer of golf and he's been enjoying himself. So maybe he's energized again.

Q: Do you feel you still have a good rapport with Michael despite some negative things he said about you in a couple of books?

A: Well, I'm certainly somewhat peeved at some of the things that were written in those books, especially because Michael's memory was not accurate.

Q: What kind of coach will Floyd be?

A: He's really going to be an outstanding coach. His teams are going to be defensive-oriented. On offense, it's going to be team ball again, whether it's a triangle or some other system. But he will be a systems coach whose offense will involve movement of the ball and movement off the ball. I believe that Tim Floyd teams over the years will win more games than they should win with the talent they'll have. And people are going to like him, too, because he is a personable guy.

Q: What are your parting thoughts on closing the Jackson chapter?

A: It was a great run. Phil 's a great guy and he was a great coach. He believed in the same things that (Krause) did and that I did. I remember when I first took control of the club in 1985 and said I had a vision of a team that would win with defense and play like the old New York Knicks. Everybody laughed and said it couldn't be done.

It took us a couple of coaches, but Phil turned out to be the right coach at the right time. We won six championships together, and it's hard not to look back with great fondness. Phil and I always had a great relationship.

Q: Yes, he reiterated that and said it was Krause more than anybody else who pushed him out.

A: Well, I don't know that he was pushed out. I think Phil left because it was time for him to leave because he was worn out. The fact that he and Jerry were never going to drive to California together is true. But they worked well together. They won six championships together.

Q: Did you ever try to mend those fences between Jackson and Krause? Assistant coach Tex Winter stepped in a few times as peacemaker. But did you?

A: Maybe not as hard as I should have. But I don't know that I could have. Still, whatever their differences were, it didn't affect their working together. They were successful, and that was great.

 

[Kush77]

Parting shots - Bulls' decisions played role in MJ choosing retirement
Chicago Sun-Times - Wednesday, January 13, 1999
Author: LACY J. BANKS

Partly because of his disagreement with some of the Bulls' personnel decisions, Michael Jordan officially will bid farewell to the NBA at 11 this morning during a news conference at the United Center.

"He said he no longer was happy with some of the decisions the Bulls had been making and the direction they appeared to be headed," a close friend of Jordan said, under the condition of anonymity. "He wanted to go out a winner, and he didn't feel too confident that he could do that under the new conditions."

Jordan said several times last season that he wanted to keep playing_but only under certain conditions. He wanted Phil Jackson to be the Bulls' coach, and he wanted veteran teammates he believed would help him win another title. He didn't want to be part of a rebuilding program, and he said he would not play for another coach or another team.

Lacking his desired conditions, Jordan apparently lost his desire.

"Personally, I hate to see that happen because Michael obviously is still the league's best player and he has brought so much to the game," said Indiana Pacers coach Larry Bird, a Hall of Famer who retired seven years ago. "It happens to every athlete sooner or later. It happened to me.

"But Phil made his mind up that he was getting out, and he got out. Now I think that Michael is just sticking to his word."

Jackson resigned June 22. Asked Tuesday whether he thought returning as Bulls coach would have kept Jordan from retiring, Jackson told Fox Sports News he didn't have to make that decision "because Michael didn't ask me to do it. Knowing the respect between the two of us, I don't think Michael would have asked me to come out of retirement because he didn't want to go into retirement."

Accompanied by wife Juanita and other relatives, agent David Falk, NBA commissioner David Stern and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, Jordan will announce the end of his 13-year career on the United Center court.

"We're going to have the court down and the baskets up, just like we do for games," Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said. "The press conference will be held on the floor. After all, that's his home."

It's a home Jordan once vowed he never would set foot in, let alone play in, because of his fondness for the ancient Stadium that was located across Madison Street from the United Center.

Jordan won his first three championships and first seven scoring titles while the Bulls played at the Stadium. He kissed the floor after his last game there, before it was demolished in 1994.

But the United Center also was the site of many memories. That was where Jordan held his first retirement party in 1994, when his No. 23 jersey was retired and raised to the rafters.

And after Jordan got the basketball itch on the heels of a disappointing 17 months of baseball in the White Sox farm system, the United Center was where he found relief. He returned to lead the Bulls to three more NBA championships and won three more scoring titles.

Jordan gave a clear hint he was finished when he stopped working out after last season.

"He hasn't really worked out in more than six months," a friend said. "But he sure isn't flabby like some people are saying. His body is still trim. He just isn't in any shape to play basketball."

So when Reinsdorf contacted Falk last weekend to start negotiating a new contract, there was nothing to negotiate because Jordan already had made up his mind to quit.

So it turns out Charles Barkley, a longtime Jordan buddy, was right when he said last summer that Jordan was not coming back.

"Michael is done," Barkley said then. "You can hope and hope and hope, but Michael is gone."

Barkley also used that occasion to rip the Bulls.

"He's not coming back because he's fed up with the way the Bulls have disrespected his wishes and disrespected him," Barkley said. "Here is a man who made it clear to the world that he wouldn't play for any coach but Phil Jackson . So what do the Bulls do? They chase Phil away, hire another coach ( Tim Floyd ), and then ask Phil to come back when they knew he wouldn't.

"That's utter disrespect. After all that Michael has done for the team and the league, the Bulls and the league should have been doing everything in their power to make sure he could play where he wants to play and for the coach he wanted to play for and then give him a decent set of teammates."