[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-814":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444381,1896,"Chapter 814 - 28 General_2","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-814",814,"\u003Cp>So, seeing that Jordan and Krause were at odds, Reinsdorf was pleased with the situation; how could he possibly fire Krause?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, when it came to Jordan, Reinsdorf was definitely going to appease him; after all, he was his biggest cash cow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the team departed for San Antonio, Reinsdorf called Jordan and invited him over to his house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first time Reinsdorf had invited a player to his home, clearly he wanted to ease the relationship between Jordan and Krause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinsdorf told Jordan that he knew Krause had flaws, but he believed Krause had been doing quite well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re currently ranked first, Jerry has done a lot of things right. He drafted Scottie, Horace, brought us Cartwright, and also traded for Buck-Williams, which was a beautiful deal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinsdorf knew that Krause operated in secrecy and some of his behaviors were annoying; he was also aware that Krause wasn’t the ideal representative for the team in public, but he still appreciated Krause’s intelligence and decisiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, we’re now at the top of the Eastern Conference, and no first-place Eastern team would replace their general manager.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls recently surpassed the Boston Celtics, claiming first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Reinsdorf was even less understanding of why Jordan had so many grievances and why he wanted to completely eliminate Krause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Jordan insisted that aside from drafting rookies, Krause was not capable of making outstanding trades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was an outsider, incapable of adding championship-caliber role players to the team like Jerry West could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan believed that the team would be better managed by someone who had played professionally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what do you think about Elgin Baylor?\" Reinsdorf asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baylor was a great player and a good partner of Jerry West.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s currently working with the Clippers, but under his leadership, the Clippers are staggering, and their high draft picks haven’t lived up to their potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan could not refute this, so he changed the subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I played golf with general managers all summer; they all told me they don’t want to deal with Krause because he’s always trying to get the upper hand and gain something for nothing, which is why we’re always so quiet on the trade market.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Basketball is a business, and doing business is about making a profit. Of course those general managers don’t like Krause; they prefer people who let them have the advantage, but do you think such people can develop the Bulls?\" Reinsdorf retorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinsdorf made sense, but Jordan still argued: \"But our goal is not just to develop, it is to win the Championship Ring! Our rivals are the Portland Trail Blazers! Their lineup is stronger than ours, their planning is better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan made this point, and Reinsdorf didn’t argue back; there was a logic to it if the Portland Trail Blazers were considered a potential rival, the Bulls were indeed a little lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Reinsdorf’s silence, Jordan continuously expressed his dissatisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought that Purdue and Armstrong, whom they took in the first round, wouldn’t be very effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grant was playing well, but he wasn’t reliable, and Buck-Williams was obviously better, he was Jordan’s preferred choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pippen was also unreliable, Jordan pointed out he would vanish for various reasons during critical games—referring to Pippen’s injury and migraines during key playoff games against Detroit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan also said that he made a compromise over Hopson and even reduced his salary according to their demands; why would Krause still choose Toni Kukoc, and spend so much time and effort on this Croatian who couldn’t come to America to play for the time being?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan didn’t think the Bulls needed Kukoc, nor did he believe Kukoc would turn out well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you want to diversify the nationalities in the locker room, why not simply choose Petrović? He’s playing well for the Trail Blazers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Jordan spoke, the angrier he became; he insisted that the management’s idea of not needing Walter Davis was a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls needed a scorer off the bench, and come playoff time, everyone would notice that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinsdorf sat on the soft leather sofa, watching Jordan vent his dissatisfaction, critiquing every aspect of the team’s roster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his mouth, the entire Chicago Bulls was utterly useless, from the starters to the bench, not one was a proper talent; was the Bulls’ first place in the Eastern Conference solely produced by Jordan alone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinsdorf thought to himself that God was indeed fair; he bestowed Michael with such great basketball talent and, as a balance, gave him a crappy ability to evaluate people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jordan was nearly done venting, Reinsdorf passed him a cigar, then lightly said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you want people to start regarding you the same way they see Isaiah Thomas?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That comment rendered Jordan silent; he said nothing for a long while, holding the cigar in his hand, motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas was criticized due to the trade involving Adrien Dantley and Mark Aguirre, and to this day, Dantley complains, \"Thomas stole my Championship Ring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the media, Thomas was portrayed as a spoiled, meddling, and awful player, which was exactly what Michael Jordan detested the most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hated Thomas and hated even more the idea of being seen as the next Thomas.\u003C\u002Fp>",879,"2026-06-06T01:41:38.369Z",1,"novelbin.me","9ee3ed9ac9452790fd73e19f8fe8ecc64892d2923a7969ab8c2a262bfb7439d5","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-815","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-813",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]