[Review_01] "A Lamp before the Wind" / The Last Dance Ep.01

A Lamp before the Wind : the fate or status of one thing is in an extremely precarious state (Korean proverb)

 

In the 1997 summer, every Bulls member, from team managers to players, was confident of winning the championship and completing the second three-peats in the upcoming season. In his interview during the tour in Paris, Michael Jordan assured media and basketball fans of establishing the ever-lasting Bulls dynasty with his current colleagues and the head coach Phil Jackson. He believed that no other teams but Bulls had proved and would would continue to demonstrate their competence by achieving four or five peats. His promise on building the legendary team was enough to thrill people, except one person: Chicago’s general manager Jerry Krause who had already embarked on preparing for another winning Bulls without the G.O.A.T.(Greatest of all time) player.

Jerry Krause drafted Micahael Jordan by himself in 1984.

 

Krause’s belief in constructing a strong team lied on the existence of a qualified organization equipped with outstanding managers rather than a set of players. His unpublished memoir reveals a story involving the 1998 Bulls which the episode does not explore. The assessment of the Chicago Bulls dynasty through the eyes of the management suggested the opposite prospect from Jordan. The coach requested a year-off after the season and expressed clear objection to take over a burden of rebuilding. The center Luc Longley’s ankle required intermittent break for recovery during the season. Dennis Rodman, the all-time rebounder, had been caught up by his off-court misconducts, and *Scottie Pippen who always stood next to Jordan demanded either a super-star contract or trade. Steve Kerr, a current head coach of the new Warriors dynasty, and Jud Buechler deserved higher salary which Chicago was not able to cover because of the ceiling (salary cap). Krause cast a question to the public: “Did we break up a dynasty or was the dynasty breaking up of age.” The general manager could not gamble by entrusting the fate of team on the hands of Michael, whom he thought no longer a certified check for championship as much as the crowd praised.

 

Scottie Pippen(the far left) and Michael Jordan (left to the trophy) took a picture with their colleagues, the GM Jerry Krause (in a suit), and the coach Phil Jackson (in a red shirt) after their first winning of the NBA finals in 1991.

 

The conflict came to an end when the icon of Bulls declared his ‘official’ resignation from the dynasty (he took an abrupt vacation to the baseball field in 1993 and returned to the court after two years). Krause’s bold remark that players do not win championships, organizations do has never been materialized as Chicago still seeks for a post-Jordan who can bring back the old time glory to the city. From the fact that the Bulls were not invited to the finals while Jordan playing in the minor league for two years, many experts agreed that it was Michael Jordan who brought six trophies to the Bulls. However, what Krause had done as a general manager should not be overlooked since he was the one who raised Scottie Pippen, picked Jordan in the draft, and promoted Phil Jackson in obscurity to the head coach. The first episode of The Last Dance pulls out the story involving this chaotic moment between players and the organization, which had been hidden under the fame of second three peats in the 1998 finals.

 

* Related Articles

Victor Mather and Sopan Deb, Who Was Jerry Krause?. New York Times, April 20, 2020,

https://www.nytimes.com/article/jerry-krause-bulls-the-last-dance.html

Who Was Jerry Krause?

K.C. Johnson, Jerry Krause explains why the Bulls’ dynasty unraveled, in his words. NBC sports, May 2020. 

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/jerry-krause-explains-why-bulls-dynasty-unraveled-his-words?amp

Krause explains why Bulls’ dynasty unraveled, in his words

*BS stands for Basketbal Story

[BS 1-1] “Scottie Pippen was not a star player,” said his salary

Scottie Pippen is another Chicago Bulls star who joined Chicago Bulls before Michael Jordan and had been the best partner of him. His play had attracted Chicago citizens as well as the nation's attention, leading to soaring viewers of the NBA before the Jordan era. However, he was ranked 122nd highest-paid NBA player and sixth highest in the Bulls despite of being second option in the Bulls' offesne after Jordan. His contract gave him only $18 milion in eight years, while Jordan received $33.1 milion salary only for the 1997-98 season. This was because his fiscal anxiety in 1990 as the first son of the poor family with 11 sibilings made him desperate for the stable contract before losing an opportunity for injury or aging, although many recommended him not to sign up the deal. The salary cap after the Bulls winning the championship in 1991 accelerated along with the number of NBA audience, giving a birth to super boom in contracts to star player except Pippen. Later he regreted the deal and requested negotiation, yet the Bulls did not find a convincing reason to raise his salary by risking losing other A rank players. His value was recognized in his free agent contract with Houston Rockets by receiving the maximum salary, and the Bulls also repaid him at the end of his career by signing two years contract with the old palyer. 

 

*** Sam Quinn. Scottie Pippen contract explained: How the Bulls managed to sign Hall of Famer for pennies on the dollar. CBS sports, May 17, 2020

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/scottie-pippen-contract-explained-how-the-bulls-managed-to-sign-hall-of-famer-for-pennies-on-the-dollar/

Scottie Pippen contract explained: How the Bulls managed to sign Hall of Famer for pennies on the dollar

 

[BS 1-2] Dennis Rodman disappeared during the 1998 finals.

What would you do if you are the head coach, and one of your starting players left for a wrestsling show as a player during the final games? Dennis Rodman known as ‘the Menace’ did not show up at the team practice after the third game of the 1998 NBA finals and was captured in the camera of people visiting a WCW Nitro show in Michigan. He was not the best player but the key player of the 1998 Bulls for rebounds. The coach Phil Jackson did not accuse him of being disrespect to the team as he knew he could have not stopped him. Interestingly, Rodman himself contributed enormously to earn the last champion trophy by posting a series-high 50 rebounds across the six games. But this was his last all-star performance in the play-offs.

 

*** Etienne Fermie, DENNIS THE MENACE: Dennis Rodman missed Chicago Bulls practice in 1998 NBA Finals to wrestle with Hulk Hogan. The Sun, May 18, 2020,

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/11648407/dennis-rodman-nba-finals-hogan/

Dennis Rodman missed 1998 NBA Finals practice to wrestle with Hulk Hogan