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Jack M Silverstein
@readjack
, 52 tweets, 20 min read Read on Twitter
In honor of @Hoophall:

The true story of Jerry Krause and Tracy McGrady

How two missed connections nearly changed their careers

A thread.
It’s fitting that the late Jerry Krause & the great Tracy McGrady enter @hoophall together.

Krause tried to get T-Mac to the Bulls.

Twice.
In 1997, Krause tried to acquire draft picks to draft the HS senior McGrady.

In 2000, Krause tried to sign the mega free agent McGrady.
If Krause landed McGrady in 1997, no more 6th championship.

If McGrady chose the Bulls in 2000, no more Evil Krause.
What if #1: the near trade/draft of Tracy McGrady to the ’97-’98 Bulls.

This strikes at the heart of the Jackson/Pippen/MJ v. Krause beef.
On June 13, 1997, the Bulls won their 5th NBA title.

Pippen, the team’s biggest signed asset, clinched the ring:

vine.co/v/eTu5uKATLLY
Now in the 1997 offseason, Jordan, Jackson, and Rodman were without contracts.

Pippen was signed through 1998.

Krause was thirsty.
The Bulls had the #28 pick.

The lottery-losing Celtics had #3 & #6.

New C’s coach Rick Pitino wanted a veteran. Krause wanted young blood.
Reporting on the specifics differs, but any potential trade would have included:

* #3 and #6 to the Bulls
* Pippen and Longley to Boston
The Bulls would use the picks on two of these three players:

Keith Van Horn, Ron Mercer, or Tracy McGrady.

articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-06-25/spo…
Remember when I said that Jackson, Jordan, and Rodman were free agents?

This is where Krause’s personality comes into play.
Krause assumed Jackson would not re-sign if the team traded Pippen.

So he banned Jackson for draft workouts for picks #3 and #6.
Reporting differs on who ultimately squashed the deal, but chaos definitely reigned at the Berto Center that week.

articles.latimes.com/1997-06-29/spo…
McGrady and Pippen spoke this year with @Rachel__Nichols about the secret workout and squashed trade:

espn.com/video/clip?id=…
With the Pippen deal dead, the Bulls brought everyone else back...

July 23: Jackson
Aug. 27: Jordan
Oct. 23: Rodman

...then nabbed ring #6
What would have happened if the Pippen trade went through?

We would have missed Van Horn, giving us McGrady for sure and probably Mercer.
After that, it’s pretty tough to project. Phil leaves? Sign-and-trade for Jordan for some franchise’s next, what, 10 1st rounders?
Or would Phil and MJ see promise in McGrady, or persuade Krause to take Chauncey Billups instead of Mercer?
I don’t think we win in ’98 w/o Pip, even considering his injuries.

But could MJ-TMac-Kukoc + Rodman’s replacement win in ’99 or ’00?
Grades if the Pippen trade happens:

Krause: probably worse
Jordan/Pippen: worse
Jackson: potentially better
McGrady: better
This Bulls history thread is brought to you by...

My 1996 Bulls book!

It's free! For now...

Read it here :)

readjack.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/how-th…
What If #2: the near signing of McGrady in 2000.

This non-signing changed the course of Bulls history, reverberating to this day.
Duncan, Grant Hill, T-Mac, and Eddie Jones were free agents.

The Bulls had enough cap space to sign two of them.

eskimo.com/~pbender/misc/…
Conventional wisdom had Duncan (Spurs) and Hill (Pistons) re-signing, meaning McGrady would choose between the Bulls and his hometown Magic.
So what happened?

The Bulls targeted the FAs in order of hype.

McGrady was their 3rd target.

Why? Krause says he listened to Tim Floyd.
As Sam Smith reported, Krause wanted T-Mac, but Floyd wanted Duncan & Hill.

Krause relented. McGrady was insulted.

espn.com/nba/columns/st…
Here’s what happened:

Jul. 3: Duncan to Spurs
Jul. 5: Hill to Magic
Jul. 6: McGrady to Magic
Jul. 8: McGrady visits Bulls

Wait.

What?
That’s right: McGrady visited the Bulls two days after he told the Sentinel he was coming to the Magic. It was, he said, a “courtesy visit.”
After losing McGrady, the Bulls zoned in on Eddie Jones of the Hornets.

Jones was in. Until he wan't.

articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-08-02/spo…
In the end, the Bulls got only Magic free agent Ron Mercer. The 2001 Bulls had the 2nd lowest salary in the NBA.

eskimo.com/~pbender/misc/…
To me, the Bulls whiffing on McGrady in 2000 did more damage to the franchise’s rep than anything with the dynasty.

blogabull.com/2017/3/24/1504…
McGrady: 26.8 PPG for the 2001 Magic.

Mercer: 19.7 PPG for the 2001 Bulls.

We won 15 games after 17 in 2000. Orlando went from 41 to 43.
2001 Bulls with McGrady:

PG Bryce Drew (Jamal Crawford backup)
SG Artest
SF McGrady
PF Brand
C Brad Miller

That's maybe a playoff team!
Krause said that if we had McGrady, he would not have traded Brand. We would have picked likely in the teens in 2001. Zach Randolph at 19?
In 2002, TMac was 1st team All-NBA. The Nets (52 wins) won the East.

The '02 Bulls: Crawford, Artest, McGrady, Brand, Miller + 2001 pick.
A McGrady-led Bulls would still have cap room + a young nucleus, coming of age in a weak East. T-Mac’s Bulls get to the ECF, at least.
Could McGrady’s Bulls sneak into the 2003 Finals ahead of NJ? I think so. That changes his legacy completely, even with a loss to the Spurs.
Grades if the McGrady-to-Bulls signing happens:

Krause: way way better
McGrady: way way better
Bulls: way way better
Instead, the Bulls were branded as undesirable for free agents — first because of the dynasty’s breakup, second because of 2000.
Without that reputation, we might have landed LeBron & Wade in 2010. Instead, Wade questioned the Bulls’ “loyalty.”

articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-05-27/spo…
But so it goes :)

Congratulations to the Krause family and @real_t_mac on @Hoophall! I’m glad they’re together at last.

#SeeRed
Postscript.

Thank you to everyone sharing this thread and getting in on the discussion. A few more notes to add...

1. Along with my '96 Bulls book, this link has interviews I did -- print, radio, podcast, TV -- about the book:

readjack.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/how…
2. After Jerry Krause died, I wrote a thread on all things Krause, including his five best Bulls moves:

3. Also after Krause died, @BullsBlogger asked me to write about his complicated Bulls legacy. Lots of history:

blogabull.com/2017/3/24/1504…
4. I did two radio spots after Krause's death. The first was with @LaurenceWHolmes. Lnk is down, but might be back?

player.fm/series/the-tj-…
5. The other Krause legacy interview was with @WeekendGabe on @MorningRushChi:

player.fm/series/weekend…
6. In February, I wrote a thread explaining why fans are so frustrated with Bulls management, despite past success:

7. And speaking of Bulls management, a few people have brought up Gar Forman. You know who hired him?

Tim Floyd. Aug. 1, 1998. As a scout.
8. In 2004, Sam Smith reported that Jerry Krause told associates that hiring Tim Floyd was the "biggest mistake" of his NBA career.
9. For more on the thread from Krause to Floyd to the team's current management, @BawlSports and I broke it down:

10. One final fun piece of Krause history -- the lost Pippen-Clippers trade. With @LaurenceWHolmes on @670TheScore:

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Jack M Silverstein
@readjack
R. Lee Ermey was hired to be technical advisor on "Full Metal Jacket." He wanted to play the drill instructor. Stanley Kubrick said no.

So while auditioning extras Ermey got into full wardrobe and BECAME the drill instructor. Kubrick changed his mind.

Life is what you make it.
Here is @MatthewModine on how #RLeeErmey took the "Full Metal Jacket" role from the original actor.

"Lee would step in and take over. Full speed. Balls out. ... Lee was. Tim wasn’t. So Tim is on a plane home."

From @FMJDiary: readjack.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/fro…
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s/o @AdamRackoff

@FMJDiary: readjack.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/fro…

My interview with Modine: readjack.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/a-p…
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