Never forget, Jerry Krause’s NBA draft record was abysmal

ESPN Chicago Bulls documentary “The Last Dance” has identified a villain and it is former general manager Jerry Krause.

June 22, 1987. The 1987 NBA draft. It was former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause’s best day on the job. And what a glorious, historic, dynasty-making day it was; before the night was over Krause traded for Scottie Pippen and drafted Horace Grant, setting the foundation for a team that would win three straight championships and six championships in eight years before the next decade was over. Incredible. It eventually led to Krause being inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

It was also the only time in his entire drafting career that Krause got it right.  Every single year of his tenure featured an airball or off the mark selection, when better players were on the board who could have changed the course of basketball history.

Here are the gory details for a man who has received credit for being the sleuth, a great evaluator of hidden talent:

1985: Bulls make a trade with Cleveland swapping the 11th pick (Keith Lee) for the 9th pick (Charles Oakley).

Not bad. However, Hall of Fame power forward Karl Malone was on the board this whole time, eventually getting drafted 13th overall. If you were looking for a power forward from an obscure college, Malone was the guy. The Bulls don’t wait until 1991 to win a title if they draft Malone.

1986: Brad Sellers 9th overall. John Salley was on the board and was selected 11th by Detroit. Salley was a part of two titles in with the Pistons, had twice as many rebounds as Sellers, over three times as many points for his career. He would have been even better playing with Jordan.

1987: Pippen and Grant. The winner!

1988: Will Perdue 11th overall. Dan Majerle 14th , Rod Strickland 18th. Majerle would have been a perfect complement to Jordan and Pippen. Strickland could have been their starting point guard, or an electric 6th man.

1989: 6th Stacey King, 18th B.J. Armstrong, 20th Jeff Sanders. This one really hurts. Nick Anderson, Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp all picked after King in the first round. Vlade Divac 27th. Cliff Robinson was a dynamite second round selection.

1990:  Chicago did not have a first-round pick and selected Toni Kukoc in the second round. Kukoc was a nice complementary player in the Bulls dynasty, but he never made an All-Star team despite being sold by Krause as being on the level of Jordan and Pippen.

1991: Mark Randall, 26th. SIim pickings, but many players after Randall ended up with lengthy NBA careers including Isaac Austin, Randy Brown, Doug Overton and Elliot Perry, who all played at least nine years in the NBA. Randall was on the court for 127 games.

1992: Byron Houston, 27th. P.J. Brown drafted two picks later. Brown scored nearly 10,000 points in his career. Houston didn’t hit 1,000.

1993: Corie Blount, 25th overall. Another swing and miss at a big man while Nick Van Exel was selected 37th by the Lakers. Not to mention Bryon Russell, who Jordan would see in 1998, was drafted 45th.

1994: Dickey Simpkins, 21st overall. If you haven’t figured it out by now, drafting a big man was not Krause’s thing. Wesley Person, who has a three-point shooting percentage of 41 percent for his career, drafted two picks later.

1995: Jason Caffey, 20th. One more try at a power forward.

Oops.

Michael Finley was drafted 21st, just one pick later. Can you imagine what the Bulls would have looked like in the second act of their dynasty with Pippen, Jordan, and Finley on the floor?

1996: You guessed it, another big man. This time Travis Knight, 29th overall. Othella Harrington who had a productive 12-year career was drafted next.

1997: Keith Booth, 28th overall. Finally, a perimeter player, but not one who can play. Stephen Jackson, drafted 42nd to Phoenix, would have brought scoring punch and toughness.

1998: Corey Benjamin, 28th. Ok, fine. It was nothing to do with position. Krause just doesn’t know talent. Rashard Lewis, who made two All-Star teams, went four picks later.

Many argued that the Bulls dynasty had run its course after 1997-98, that Pippen was breaking down, and Rodman had little left. But, Pippen led the league in games played in the 1999 season, and played 40 minutes a night. Jordan came back three years later and was still effective on a team by himself.

Imagine what 1999 could have been with Michael Finley on the wing, a capable big man, Harrington, Brown, Austin, plus rookie Rashard Lewis. And, would the Bulls have won a title in 1989 or 1990 with Hardaway, Kemp or Anderson in the mix instead of losing in six and seven games to Detroit?

It seems more likely than not, and certainly a fair question.

Ultimately, Krause’s Bulls never had a winning season or sniffed the playoffs after Jordan retired. He was finally replaced near the end of the 2003 season, and as much as his legacy is tied to the greatest dynasty in basketball history, his ineptitude and ego are the biggest reasons the good times eventually came to an end prematurely.