1. Scottie Pippen, Forward
That dynamic duo that Krause found for the Bulls in the 1987 NBA Draft really saw him get a gem with the fifth overall pick in Pippen. Originally, Pippen was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics fifth overall, but he would but traded on draft night to the Bulls. Krause pulled off a good deal there that saw a swap of a few other draft picks.
Pippen was that second piece that the Bulls needed to slot alongside Jordan to finally get this team over the hump. He was arguably one of the best forwards in NBA history, and is already a Hall-of-Fame inductee. Pippen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame as part of the 2010 class.
The best years of Pippen’s NBA career clearly came with the Bulls. He just wasn’t the same when he signed a contract with the Houston Rockets, or when he spent a few seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers thereafter. Pippen would amass a whopping 10 All-Defensive Team selections, seven All-Star selections, one steals title, one All-Star Game MVP, seven All-NBA honors, and those six NBA Championships that he won with the Bulls.
During his 12 seasons that he spent with the Bulls, Pippen registered a sparkling 4.7 box plus/minus rating, around 100 total win shares, .158 win shares per 48 minutes, 51.1 value over replacement player rating, 19.6 player efficiency rating, and a 53.9 true shooting percentage.
As an NBA legend and the perfect sidekick to Jordan with the Bulls, Pippen was the best draft pick that Krause ever had as Chicago’s general manager.