- For the longest time, Jerry Krause has been blasted for the dynastic Chicago Bulls breaking up in 1998
- Luc Longley, however, believes Krause did not ruin the Bulls and felt the timing was perfect
- Longley feels the Bulls wouldn’t have been successful in 1998-99 had they stuck together
The 1990s Chicago Bulls are one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. With Michael Jordan leading the way, they won six championships in the decade, three-peating twice from 1991 to 1993 and then from 1996 to 1998.
Everything fell apart after that 1997-98 season, though and then-GM Jerry Krause has been blamed for ruining it all. The Last Dance Documentary further intensified that sentiment but Luc Longley, who was part of the second three-peat, doesn’t believe Krause did anything wrong.
“Here is what I will say – I think Jerry did an amazing job of putting that group together and keeping that group together, and he has been vilified to a certain extent, and I don’t support that,” Longley said, via The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He always did, what I thought, was the right thing by me and by most people. I understand everyone’s circumstances are different.
“I think what would have ruined the Bulls is to limp through the next season with a carcass of who we were and not play beautiful basketball.
“For me, to end on such a crescendo [was ideal]. No, I don’t think Jerry Krause ruined the Bulls, I think the timing was perfect.”
Longley seems to think the Bulls would have collapsed the following season and that Krause made the right call. His former teammates stated during that documentary that they could have kept winning, but Longey doesn’t believe that would have happened.
After that 1997-98 season, Phil Jackson left as Krause had made it clear he wouldn’t be getting a new deal. Jordan had said he’d retire if Jackson was let go and he did. Scottie Pippen’s contract was up after that season and he was dealt to the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade, as the Bulls never really wanted to give him a long-term deal as he was in his mid-30s. Dennis Rodman, meanwhile, was released as the Bulls Big 3 were all gone in a flash.
Could The Bulls Have Kept Winning Had They Stuck Together?
Jordan said in the documentary that the Bulls could have won a seventh title had they not broken up, but could they have? One argument against it is that Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman weren’t getting any younger. They were all in their mid-30s, but the fact that 1998-1999 was a lockout-shortened season would have helped them.
They would have faced the Twin Towers of Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the Finals, however, and I’d say they’d have lost to them. The biggest weakness for those Bulls had always been their bigs and they’d have had a rough time dealing with Duncan and Robinson.
If this was the Bulls in their absolute prime, then maybe they could have, but Steve Kerr once admitted that they were fatigued in 1998, and there was a huge emotional toll on them as well.
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