QUOTE
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, held the post since 1985. He has struggled to rebuild the team since Jordan left after leading Chicago to a third straight title in 1998.
At 27-50 through Monday, the Bulls 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.
\"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.\"
Reinsdorf, who hopes to have a successor in place within a month, praised Krause.
\"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,\" Reinsdorf said. \"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.\"
Krause, 64, held the post since 1985. He has struggled to rebuild the team since Jordan left after leading Chicago to a third straight title in 1998.
At 27-50 through Monday, the Bulls 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.
\"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.\"
Reinsdorf, who hopes to have a successor in place within a month, praised Krause.
\"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,\" Reinsdorf said. \"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.\"
[ April 07, 2003, 10:33 AM: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]