Category: Bulls History

Was the booing of Jerry Krause a turning point in his Chicago Bulls legacy?

Did ‘The Last Dance’ poison his legacy? Is this a chance to right that wrong?

Was his booing at the Chicago Bulls‘ recent “ring of honor” ceremony a turning point in Jerry Krause’s legacy with the team he helped win six NBA titles? The world was horrified as his widow watched fans of the storied ball club treat her deceased partner with disrespect, but the incident also cast an intense light on how he came to be seen so negatively.

Namely, as the villain of Michael Jordan’s Netflix documentary “The Last Dance,” which cast the Bulls GM in a negative light at Jordan’s supposed behest. And while it is not clear whether His Airness personally asked for such a frame for his former boss, a generation of fans certainly became accustomed to seeing Krause as the bad guy for doing what ownership asked of him.

The folks behind the “CHGO” YouTube channel put together a clip exploring this unexpected outcome of an embarrassing moment for the team with historian Jack Silverstein.

Check it out above!

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Kenyon Martin on why Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was so hard to guard

Jordan was a cover that required Herculean strength and laser focus to stay with, never mind contain. 

When it comes to the toughest of defenders in NBA history, Kenyon Martin is a name that will likely come up in most circles. And the man knows a thing or two about guarding some of the toughest covers in league history. The man made a name for himself on the defensive end of the court, having guarded the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and even Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

Regarding the latter, K-Mart had a ton to share in a recent interview with the folks behind the “Buckets” podcast, with Martin breaking down in detail why His Airness was so hard to guard during his wide-ranging chat.

K-Mart encountered MJ on the court during his comeback days with the Washington Wizards. But even in that sunset period of the perennial G.O.A.T. candidate, Jordan was a cover that required Herculean strength and laser focus to stay with, never mind contain.

To hear the details of guarding MJ for yourself, check out the clip above.

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Never, ever wear Adidas around Bulls legend Michael Jordan

It does not matter if you are the best player in the NBA, or a famous pugilist with an undefeated record.

It does not matter if you are the best player in the NBA, or a famous pugilist with an undefeated record — whatever you do, do not show up for a meeting with Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan wearing Adidas sneakers. Just ask former super middleweight and light heavyweight champion Andre Ward.

The former top boxer recently recounted how sporting a pair of Adidas went for a Jordan Brand employee who got called out by His Airness during a business meeting Ward was in attendance of back when he himself was an active Jordan Brand athlete. Speaking on a recent episode of the Showtime Basketball “All the Smoke” podcast, Ward shared his account of the dressing down that hapless employee was on the receiving end of, all because of his fashion choices at work.

To hear Ward tell the tale himself, as well as what it was like to be a Jordan Brand athlete in the sport of boxing more generally, check out the clip embedded below.

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Former Pacers star Roy Hibbert on the Bulls’ ring of honor’ debacle

The embarrassing event has had all sorts of NBA icons speak out.

The Chicago Bulls’ recent “ring of honor” ceremony to honor a number of key figures from the storied ball club’s past went sideways in a very embarrassing fashion. Mainly focused on celebrating the people behind the team’s six titles in the 1990s under Michael Jordan, few of the honored attended the event.

But former Bulls GM Jerry Krause’s widow did, and got to watch the crows boo her late husband for her troubles. The egregious faux pas has since become one of the biggest stories in the NBA media over the last few days, with everyone from local reporters to Gilbert Arenas weighing in.

Now, we can add to that list of people former Indiana Pacers star big man and current Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Roy Hibbert, who took some time to talk about that blemish on Bulls history in his own, eponymous podcast.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear his thoughts on the debacle at the “ring of honor” for yourself.

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Bulls included in top 15 trades of last 5 years analysis

And they still manage to get a backhanded compliment out of the bargain.

The Chicago Bulls have found themselves recognized for being part of one of the 15 best in-season trades of the last five years in a recent article, but still managed to get a backhanded compliment out of that honor. “This is how you start a rebuild,” writes the Athletic’s James Edwards.

Unfortunately for Bulls fans, the praise Edwards has for the deal is directed at the other party involved, the Orlando Magic. Edwards refers to the trade that brought Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu to Chicago for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., a 2021 first-round pick and a 2023 first-round pick.

“While Vucevic was a good player in Orlando — he made two All-Star appearances as a member of the Magic — this is a great haul for a player who never proved to impact winning at a high level,” suggests the Athletic analyst.

“Finally deciding to rebuild and by trading Vucevic, Orlando used the 2021 pick from the Bulls, which was No. 8 overall, to get Franz Wagner and were still bad enough and lucky enough to land Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick in 2022,” notes Edwards. “Those two are the pillars of a Magic rebuild that has propelled the team to a 22-18 record as of Tuesday evening.”

“Orlando is widely considered the league’s second-best young team behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bulls have done nothing of significance since adding Vucevic.”

A brutal last sentence though it may be, it reflects the increasing level of concern regarding the direction of the organization around the league’s media corp. Or rather, the lack of one.

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Gilbert Arenas takes Chicago Bulls fans to task for booing Jerry Krause

Tying the Krause ire to his portrayal in “The Last Dance,” Arenas dove into the dynamics of the former general manager with that era.

A lot of veterans took note of the debacle surrounding the fans booing deceased former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause in front of his widow at the Bulls’ recent ring of honor event. The event was created to honor the 1990s Bulls squads that won six titles for the city of Chicago.

Called a ‘new low’ for Bulls fans in some corners, one such retired vet who took issue with how the fans treated Krause is Gilbert Arenas. Arenas took Chicago fans to task for their behavior on a recent episode of his ‘Gil’s Arena’ show. Tying the Krause ire to his portrayal in “The Last Dance,” Arenas dove into the dynamics of the former general manager with that era.

To hear for yourself what Arenas thinks of the former Bulls head honcho and how he ought to be remembered by Bulls fans, check out the clip embedded below.

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Bulls fans ripped for Jerry Krause boos: ‘Worst thing I’ve ever seen’

Stecey King ripped Chicago Bulls fans to shreds for booing Jerry Krause during the team’s innagural Ring of Honor ceremony.

At halftime of their game against the Golden State Warriors, the Chicago Bulls welcomed the inaugural class of their new Ring of Honor. They honored 13 members, including the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, none of whom were able to be in attendance for the event.

The Bulls also honored the late Jerry Krause, the long-time GM of the Bulls. However, United Center decided to boo Krause when he was announced. Krause’s widow, Thelma, who was there representing her late husband, was noticeably emotional when the boos began raining down. Since the incident, there has been a slew of criticism being thrown the way of Chicago.

Former Bull and current NBC Sports Chicago analyst Stacey King called the boos “the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“I’m telling you what, Chicago is a sports town, and what we witnessed today when Jerry Krause’s name was called and the people that booed Jerry Krause and his widow, who was accepting this honor for him, it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” King said via ESPN. “I hurt for that lady. Brought her to tears, and whoever booed her in this arena should be ashamed of themselves.”

Michael Reinsdorf, the President and CEO of the Bulls, addressed the booing in a statement after the event.

“His legacy deserves to be celebrated and respected,” Reinsdorf’s statement said. “We were incredibly honored to have Thelma with us this evening to recognize Jerry as a member of the inaugural Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor.”

It was an ugly moment during what should have been an amazing ceremony.

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Rajon Rondo calls Bulls’ 2017 playoff exit ‘karma’ for benching him

Former Chicago Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo called the team’s 2017 playoff exit “karma” for benching him.

Ever since Michael Jordan left, the Chicago Bulls have struggled to find a true identity, skipping through weird era after weird era. The only solidified group they managed to bring in was the Derrick Rose-led Bulls, and those guys’ chance at a championship was cut short by injuries.

Before and after Rose, the Bulls put together a bunch of different oddball teams, some of which were more competitive than others. Perhaps the weirdest group the Bulls put together was the Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, and Rajon Rondo-led Bulls in the late 2010s. They were only together for a brief period of time, but they made things interesting.

In the 2017 NBA Playoffs, they even took the first two games of their first-round series against the first-seeded Boston Celtics. However, Rondo went down with an injury after the first two games, and Chicago lost the next four in a row.

On a recent appearance on the Views from the Rafters podcast, Rondo said that he believes Chicago’s early exit from the playoffs was “karma” for keeping him benched throughout the course of the season. (H/t Stephen Beslic of Bulls News)

“I got benched for almost 20 games that year,” Rondo said. “We turned around a little bit going into the playoffs, and then I’m back in the starting lineup. For me, that was my motivation, like, ‘You guys want to bench me? I’mma show you.’ I ended up trying to do my best as I could possibly do. We win the first two games, I got hurt, we don’t win another game. So for me, that was kind of like their karma on how they treated me versus me not being able to feel the destiny as far as me winning and beating the Celtics.”

Rondo was only a Bull for one season, but it was certainly a memorable run – for better or for worse.

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