Michael Jordan Didn’t Talk To Jerry Krause During Final Season With Bulls In 1997-98: ‘When We Walk Past Each Other, We Never Speak’

NBA icon Michael Jordan didn’t talk to Jerry Krause during his final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-98. 

Jordan and Krause didn’t have a good relationship. 

“Actually, right now he’s keeping a low profile,” Jordan said in April 1998. “And I’m glad. I think it’s good that he’s not around, especially for the guys who rely on his decisions for their careers. I can operate with or without Krause, but when we walk past each other, we never speak.”

Krause made Jordan furious by announcing that the 1997-98 season would be Phil Jackson’s final run with the Bulls even if the team went 82-0 and won the championship.

Krause had a lousy relationship with Jackson as well. 

Jordan despised Krause so much that he wanted the Bulls to fire Krause and make Jackson the general manager and head coach. 

“One thing is for sure, money won’t keep me in the game,” Jordan said. “Never. Just change ownership. And you know what I’d consider a change in ownership? Change the GM. Let Phil be general manager and coach. Krause? I don’t want to start a war around here. I’ll just say that sometimes it’s tough working for an organization that doesn’t show the same type of loyalty toward you as you show it.”

Krause once said, “Organizations win championships, not players.”

When Jordan heard that quote, he took offense to it. 

“We know that the team is much bigger than the 15 players,” Jordan said in The Last Dance doc, which came out in 2020. “Those guys who work in the front office, they were good people, but the most important part of the process is the players. So for him to say that is offensive to the way that I approach the game.”

The Bulls beat the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals for their sixth title in eight years. Jordan and Jackson retired in the summer of 1998, while Scottie Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal. 

Chicago hasn’t returned to the NBA Finals since the Jordan-Pippen-Jackson era ended. The franchise reached the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Miami Heat in five games. 

Jordan had two stints with the Bulls. He averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks in 930 games and won five MVPs, three steals titles, 10 scoring titles, one Defensive Player of the Year Award, six championships and six Finals MVPs. 

Krause passed away in March 2017. He won the Executive of the Year Award twice with the Bulls.