Krause Resigns as General Manager

["Belanger, Roger" <Roger.Belanger@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

FYI

Let's send Wallace and Antoine...........!!!!!

roger b



Krause Resigns as General Manager


 "I take great pride in what we've accomplished here," Krause said. "The
staff, players and coaches will always be a bright spot in my heart."  
April 7, 2003 -- Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball
Operations Jerry Krause resigned today. 
Krause, 64, who played a major role in building Bulls World Championship
teams and is a two-time NBA Executive of the Year said: "The rigors and
stress of the job have caused me some minor physical problems in the past
few years. Those problems can be eliminated if I lessen my load for a while
and concentrate on overcoming them. My first obligation is to accomplish
that for my wife, children and grandchildren. 

"It is only fair to the players and staff that 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. 

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

"Upon leaving 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. 

"I am 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. 

"I want to thank Jerry Reinsdorf for giving me the opportunity to fulfill a
lifelong dream, to be able to general manage a team in my birthplace, the
greatest city in the world. 

"I have chosen not to have a press conference with regard to this
announcement. This was an extremely hard decision to make and I believe
there is no need to belabor it." 

STATEMENT FROM CHAIRMAN JERRY REINSDORF 

"Jerry Krause is one of a kind. 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. 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. He creatively surrounded the best player
in the world, Michael Jordan, with the kind of talent to be a consistent and
exciting winner. 

"I am already considering successors and plan to announce one within the
next month. It is vital that the new general manager be in place as soon as
possible to evaluate talent both on the current team and throughout the
league to take maximum advantage of the upcoming draft and free agent
signing season. We now have the nucleus for the next elite Bulls team and
are enthusiastic about our prospects for the next few seasons. 

"Personally, Jerry has always been a battler and the Bulls support his
decision to put his health first. We wish him, and his family, the very
best."