Bulls general manager Krause resigns

Jerry Krause said he's not retiring; he's leaving his options open. Randy Belice/NBAE/Getty Images

CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause resigned Monday, citing health problems, after a tenure that included six NBA championships in the 1990s with Michael Jordan.

Krause, 64, who has held the post since 1985, has struggled to rebuild the team since Jordan left after leading the team to a third straight title in 1998.

At 27-50 through Monday, Chicago will finish with a losing record for the fifth straight season and miss the playoffs again.

"The rigors and stress of the job have caused me some minor physical problems in the past few years," Krause said in statement released by the team. "Those problems can be eliminated if I lessen my load for a while and concentrate on overcoming them."

Krause added: "It is only fair to the players and staff that [chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf be able to select my successor as soon as possible prior to the draft, just as he did with me on March 26, 1985."

SI.com's Marty Burns Jerry Krause's sudden resignation seemed to catch players and staff by surprise. While it was no secret Krause had some minor health issues, nobody seemed to think they were serious enough to cause him to step down. After all, this is a guy who has taken enormous abuse from the public in recent years and never yielded his post. Was Krause pushed out? It's possible. The Bulls are headed for a fifth straight 50-loss season, and for the first time since the breakup of the dynasty, there have been a lot of open seats at the United Center. It's not out of the question that owner Jerry Reinsdorf engineered it gently to help his loyal assistant save face. As for replacements, look for assistant GM B.J. Armstrong and team broadcaster John Paxson to head the list of candidates. Also, get ready to hear Michael Jordan's name mentioned a lot. Of course, that would be a coup for Reinsdorf, but it's as likely right now as 80-degree temperatures in the Windy City.

"I take great pride in what we've accomplished here. The staff, players and coaches will always be a bright spot in my heart," Krause said.

"I'm very confident that we have assembled the key pieces so that the franchise can return to the NBA's elite teams in the very near future."

Krause said he is not retiring.

"I'm going to take some time off and spend it with my family before making any decision on my future. I will leave my options open."

Reinsdorf said he hoped to have a successor in place within the next month. He praised Krause for surrounding Jordan with talented teammates.

"He brought with him a vision of how to build a champion and he proceeded to create one of the most dominant champions of all time," Reinsdorf said.

"No basketball fan in America can begin to imagine the world champion Chicago Bulls without his imprint. There would not have been a Coach Phil Jackson. There would not have been Scottie Pippen, Bill Cartwright, Dennis Rodman, or a host of others who wore Bulls uniforms during those championship seasons."

 

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