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Sam Smith
Be afraid, Bulls fans, be very afraid. It's draft time, and Jerry Krause has nothing to do.
Or should have nothing to do.
This should be very easy. On Wednesday, around 6:30 p.m., someone should unlock Krause's basement door. Krause should climb up the stairs, pick up the telephone and say, "Jay Williams."
The lottery couldn't have worked out better for the Bulls, and especially for Krause. Now he doesn't have to take Chinese center Yao Ming or worry about the criticism if he doesn't. Krause has the No. 2 pick, and the Houston Rockets, with Steve Francis as an All-Star point guard and a front line that couldn't rebound against the Rockettes, have the No. 1 pick.
The Rockets haven't offered many clues as to what they will do. They've been very secretive, except for: Their trip to Shanghai, the Houston mayor's trip to Shanghai, their trip to Beijing, the team doctor's trip to Beijing, where he gave Yao a six-hour examination, the team lawyer's second trip to Shanghai, a video (in Mandarin) about Houston and its Chinese community, and a Web site that features a large picture of Yao and daily updates on the progress of negotiations.
They want him. They have been at the bottom of the NBA in attendance for two years, are desperate for some sort of attraction, and they really do need a center. Plus the Chinese government isn't about to pass on the propaganda opportunity of their player being the top pick in the NBA draft.
So Krause should be fishing somewhere.
Instead, he has been dangling the pick for point guards Andre Miller of Cleveland and Baron Davis of New Orleans, which is a huge mistake because they might accept. It makes almost no sense to trade for a player a year away from being eligible for a huge contract, with no guarantee of signing him. Williams, on the other hand, will be a Bull for five years once drafted and can develop along with Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
Plus, he's very good.
Word began to surface around the NBA last week that Krause wants to make a move for the top pick and take Yao. Krause believes Yao is the most valuable player in the draft because of trade demand and potential.
Someone tie that man down and gag him.
The Bulls traded Elton Brand to the Clippers last year to get more athletic with Chandler and Curry, and now Krause covets a less athletic big man? This makes even less sense.
Krause probably is a better scout than a general manager. He was delighted to land Trenton Hassell with the first pick of the second round last year, and despite what his critics say, he is a good judge of talent.
And the draft is a scout's time, to find that hidden diamond, to lock onto someone who was skipped over, to find a steal, a bargain. To surprise everyone with your selection. To move down and get the better guy, to use your pick to haul in a bigger prize, shocking everyone.
There will be no surprise this year. Williams is there. He is the obvious choice. But Krause doesn't like doing the obvious. There's no gloating then, no executive of the year award.
Suppose the Rockets, at the last minute, bow out and trade the No. 1 pick to a team that wants Williams. What then? Do the Bulls take Yao? But if the Rockets, with all the work they've put in, were to back off, what chance would there be that Yao would come to the Bulls as the No. 2 pick? Arvydas Sabonis came—nine years after he was drafted by Portland with the 24th overall pick in the 1986 draft.
The Bulls probably would select Duke's Mike Dunleavy and hope the Rockets didn't pull a fast one on them by trading with Golden State and then picking Yao at No. 3. But Houston wants him No. 1, and it's hard to imagine at this late stage it won't happen.
Then there will be no surprises. Not small forward Caron Butler, who some say is more ready than Williams, or power forward Chris Wilcox, who might be the best player in this draft in five years. Better yet, the international steal, like Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a 7-footer who at 19 may be another Chandler, or Nene Hilario, a 6-11 monster rebounder, also only 19. How about one of them with Chandler and Curry? Or Dunleavy, Krause's kind of player—son of a coach, smart, good shooter, will listen politely to Krause's scouting stories.
The scouts would be telling Jerry Krause stories for years, whispering as they did about Tom Greenwade when he found Mickey Mantle and built another Yankees dynasty. Everyone could have had him. But one guy defied the odds and had the vision to see what no one else did.
He saw the power, the finesse, the athletic ability. And he was not afraid.
We are all afraid. Someone disconnect Krause's phone until it's time to call the commissioner Wednesday and say: Jay Williams.
Copyright © 2002, The Chicago Tribune
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Why?
Sam Smith
Be afraid, Bulls fans, be very afraid. It's draft time, and Jerry Krause has nothing to do.
Or should have nothing to do.
This should be very easy. On Wednesday, around 6:30 p.m., someone should unlock Krause's basement door. Krause should climb up the stairs, pick up the telephone and say, "Jay Williams."
The lottery couldn't have worked out better for the Bulls, and especially for Krause. Now he doesn't have to take Chinese center Yao Ming or worry about the criticism if he doesn't. Krause has the No. 2 pick, and the Houston Rockets, with Steve Francis as an All-Star point guard and a front line that couldn't rebound against the Rockettes, have the No. 1 pick.
The Rockets haven't offered many clues as to what they will do. They've been very secretive, except for: Their trip to Shanghai, the Houston mayor's trip to Shanghai, their trip to Beijing, the team doctor's trip to Beijing, where he gave Yao a six-hour examination, the team lawyer's second trip to Shanghai, a video (in Mandarin) about Houston and its Chinese community, and a Web site that features a large picture of Yao and daily updates on the progress of negotiations.
They want him. They have been at the bottom of the NBA in attendance for two years, are desperate for some sort of attraction, and they really do need a center. Plus the Chinese government isn't about to pass on the propaganda opportunity of their player being the top pick in the NBA draft.
So Krause should be fishing somewhere.
Instead, he has been dangling the pick for point guards Andre Miller of Cleveland and Baron Davis of New Orleans, which is a huge mistake because they might accept. It makes almost no sense to trade for a player a year away from being eligible for a huge contract, with no guarantee of signing him. Williams, on the other hand, will be a Bull for five years once drafted and can develop along with Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
Plus, he's very good.
Word began to surface around the NBA last week that Krause wants to make a move for the top pick and take Yao. Krause believes Yao is the most valuable player in the draft because of trade demand and potential.
Someone tie that man down and gag him.
The Bulls traded Elton Brand to the Clippers last year to get more athletic with Chandler and Curry, and now Krause covets a less athletic big man? This makes even less sense.
Krause probably is a better scout than a general manager. He was delighted to land Trenton Hassell with the first pick of the second round last year, and despite what his critics say, he is a good judge of talent.
And the draft is a scout's time, to find that hidden diamond, to lock onto someone who was skipped over, to find a steal, a bargain. To surprise everyone with your selection. To move down and get the better guy, to use your pick to haul in a bigger prize, shocking everyone.
There will be no surprise this year. Williams is there. He is the obvious choice. But Krause doesn't like doing the obvious. There's no gloating then, no executive of the year award.
Suppose the Rockets, at the last minute, bow out and trade the No. 1 pick to a team that wants Williams. What then? Do the Bulls take Yao? But if the Rockets, with all the work they've put in, were to back off, what chance would there be that Yao would come to the Bulls as the No. 2 pick? Arvydas Sabonis came—nine years after he was drafted by Portland with the 24th overall pick in the 1986 draft.
The Bulls probably would select Duke's Mike Dunleavy and hope the Rockets didn't pull a fast one on them by trading with Golden State and then picking Yao at No. 3. But Houston wants him No. 1, and it's hard to imagine at this late stage it won't happen.
Then there will be no surprises. Not small forward Caron Butler, who some say is more ready than Williams, or power forward Chris Wilcox, who might be the best player in this draft in five years. Better yet, the international steal, like Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a 7-footer who at 19 may be another Chandler, or Nene Hilario, a 6-11 monster rebounder, also only 19. How about one of them with Chandler and Curry? Or Dunleavy, Krause's kind of player—son of a coach, smart, good shooter, will listen politely to Krause's scouting stories.
The scouts would be telling Jerry Krause stories for years, whispering as they did about Tom Greenwade when he found Mickey Mantle and built another Yankees dynasty. Everyone could have had him. But one guy defied the odds and had the vision to see what no one else did.
He saw the power, the finesse, the athletic ability. And he was not afraid.
We are all afraid. Someone disconnect Krause's phone until it's time to call the commissioner Wednesday and say: Jay Williams.
Copyright © 2002, The Chicago Tribune
--------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Why?
