2. Friction between the Jerrys and the rest of the Bulls organization
As it was mentioned previously here, there was not a good relationship between Reinsdorf/Krause and most of the rest of the Bulls organization near the end of the dynasty years. Krause wanted to run things his way. He also wanted it to become clear that it would be his way or the highway in the late 1990’s in Chicago.
It all started in The Last Dance part 1 with Krause declaring that Jackson would only have the 1997-98 season left to be the Bulls head coach. Even if Jackson wanted to come back, he wasn’t going to be given the option. In the docuseries interview, Phil still looked to have a bit of regret on his face regarding this situation, even if it wasn’t his fault that it happened.
Jerry Krause told Phil Jackson he could go 82-0 in the final year and he’d be gone! https://t.co/Pite9eHrHO
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) April 20, 2020
Reinsdorf wasn’t necessarily causing the most friction, but the Bulls were still a very chaotic organization under his watch (despite all the success on the court) in the late 1990’s. That is still happening today with the Bulls having to reshape most of their front office this offseason under the direction of former Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas.
Scottie Pippen was the 122nd-highest-paid player in the NBA in '97-98, but was easily one of the best players in the league. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/CcJ132Nbb8
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2020
However, the entire focus of the second part of this docuseries was about how Pippen and Krause couldn’t get along. Pippen waited to get surgery on his foot until after the summer just so he could enjoy his offseason and not have to rehab. His low salary and poor treatment within the organization caused that move and his spats with Krause and the rest of the management.