NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 20 Lone Star (3)

In one test, the coach puts the ball in a circle around the free throw arc, and the players have to use those balls to complete as many dunks as possible in 30 seconds, which is a test of both sprint speed and lateral movement ability.Pippen broke the team record for the test with 15 dunks.In another test, the height and speed of jumping, Pippen was asked to jump four times in a row, and the computer would record his results.As a result, Pippen's performance was excellent again.

The question for the Bulls now is whether they can get Pippen.They have the No. 8 pick, and before them, the Sacramento Kings, who have the No. 6 pick, also seem to be interested in Pippen.Fortunately, the Seattle Supersonics at No. 5 didn't want Pippen. They wanted to pick a big man, so Klaus completed a deal with the SuperSonics at the last moment. The SuperSonics selected Pippen for the Bulls at No. 5. , the Bulls gave the No. 8 pick and a second-round pick to the Sonics, and promised to go to Seattle to play a warm-up game that fall-because of Jordan, the Bulls went to Seattle, which can attract a lot of home games for the Sonics. audience.

Horace Grant, who was born in Georgia on July 1965, 7, is even more unknown than Pippen.

The Bulls first stumbled across Grant by veteran assistant coach Johnny Bach.Each of the coaches on the team was given videotapes of college players, and Bach was studying North Carolina's Joe Wolf, a 6-foot-11 (2.11 meters) big man. .Bach doesn't like Wolff. He believes that Wolff's talent is limited, but his flaws are covered up by North Carolina's strong system. When he enters the NBA in the future, he will be marginalized.However, in the process of inspecting Wolff, Bach watched a North Carolina game against Clemson, and was quickly attracted by the player who played against Wolff, that is Grant.

Grant was not that tall and not that strong, but he was agile and not lacking in strength.He has a natural knack for rebounding and is aggressive on both ends of the floor.Bach felt that Grant was not trained well enough, which is incomparable to Wolff, but he has more room for growth.Grant is thin, but has very broad shoulders, which means his body can build up and not be like Brad Sellers.

Bach had more Clemson tape coming, and the more he watched, the more certain he was that Grant was the player they wanted.Several other coaches watched the video and agreed with Bach's judgment.The Bulls coaching staff quickly reached a consensus: since Jordan already has Jordan and plans to introduce Pippen, Grant will be a much better choice than Wolff.

Grant came to Chicago for a workout and also impressed Al Vermeer.Grant is 6-foot-10 (2.08 meters) tall and weighs only 215 pounds (98 kilograms), but Vermeer doesn't think that's a problem. Given Grant's shoulder width, even if he gains weight to 235 pounds (107 kilograms), he will not be fast. will be affected.At that time, Grant needed only 20 seconds for the 2.98-meter sprint, which was unbelievably good for a player of his height.In general, Grant's speed is faster than the Bulls coaching staff imagined, and his shooting is more accurate than they imagined.

As the draft approached, Klaus was a little undecided.Dean Smith pushed for Wolff, and more importantly, Jordan also wanted Wolff, which left Krause in a dilemma.Collins understood that Cyrus' draft had left a shadow in Klaus' mind.Klaus was blamed for Cyrus' ineffectiveness, and Jordan's humiliation was particularly acute.Now, let Klaus choose Grant against Jordan's wishes, he can't help but have concerns.What if Grant becomes another Cyrus?The Bulls can't afford to draft another big man wrong.

Veteran coach Tex Winter played a key role in Krause's decision.Among the Bulls coaching staff, Winter and Klaus have the best personal relationship.Winter never got involved in any factionalism, just pure basketball.On the day of the draft, the Bulls got Pippen through a trade first, and their second pick was coming soon. Krause seemed to be inclined to pick Wolff. At this time, Winter said: "Jerry, the whole coach The team wanted Grant, and we all agreed, how could you still pick Wolf?" Krause changed his mind, and the Bulls used the No. 10 pick in the first round to win Grant.

Throughout the draft process in 1987, Jordan watched coldly and dissatisfied.This year, North Carolina has two players waiting for the high position, one is the inside Wolff, and the other is the point guard Kenny Smith. Jordan wants both, but the Bulls didn't choose either.Kenny Smith was picked by the Kings at No. 6 in the first round, just behind Pippen; Wolf fell to No. 13 and was picked by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Except for Jordan, the entire Bulls team was overjoyed with the results of this draft.Bach later always referred to Pippen and Grant as "Dobermans" because they were fast and fierce enough to play high-intensity defense.On the second day of the draft, Collins said to Jordan: "Michael, I am too excited for young players who just came out of college. I am not that kind of person. But I think these two guys are really extraordinary." Jordan looked coldly He glanced at the head coach and said, "Let's wait and see."

After this time, the rift between Jordan and Klaus further widened.Krause told Jordan that you'd love to play with Pippen, to which Jordan responded, "Well, you're the one who brought Brad Sellers here."

Klaus also brought another person.

In the same summer of 1987, there was a vacancy in Collins' coaching staff. The original assistant Gene Littles (Gene Littles) jumped ship to the Charlotte Hornets. Krause found an old acquaintance to interview for the position.This old acquaintance was named Phil Jackson (Phil Jackson).

When he was young, Phil Jackson played in the NBA and spent almost his entire player era with the New York Knicks. In the early 70s, he won two championships with the team as a backup forward. At the age of 32, Jackson felt that his career had come to an end and was ready to retire. However, during the 1978 offseason, the Knicks traded him to the New Jersey Nets.Jackson didn't want to play anymore, but then Nets coach Kevin Lochry (yes, Jordan's first coach in the Bulls) said that he wanted Jackson to help him bring young players, "I know Your career is coming to an end, but coming to New Jersey can bridge the gap between playing and coaching."Jackson was not interested in coaching at the time, but Lochri's maverick style attracted him, so he agreed to join the Nets to do something.

In the 1978-1979 season, as soon as training camp was over, Lochry informed Jackson that he intended to transfer him directly to an assistant coach.As soon as the decision was made, a young forward in the team was injured, and Jackson still had to continue playing on top, but anyway, that season, he had already played the role of a part-time assistant coach, teaching young big men in training and playing in games. , and when Lohry was sent off by the referee, he also acted as head coach - that season, Lohry was sent off 14 times.

At the beginning of the 1979-1980 season, Lochry told Jackson that he decided to cut him from the team and let him serve as a full-time assistant.Jackson's playing career thus came to an end.He has since coached in various lower professional leagues, notably the CBA (Continental Basketball League) in the United States and the BSN (Senior National Basketball League) in Puerto Rico. In 1984, Jackson commanded the CBA's Albany Manor home team to win the championship. This was his first championship as a coach.

In those years, Jackson occasionally wondered if he could get the chance to coach the NBA, but the general managers of the NBA didn't seem to consider him.Jackson later recalled: "At the age of 35 (1980), I felt that I was ready to be an NBA coach. I served as an NBA assistant (player and assistant) in New Jersey for two years. But at that time, I I didn’t know anything, and now I know it. So I went to the CBA, had some success, but still nothing. I had no one to guide me in the NBA — Reid Hall, the coach when I was playing with the Knicks Red Holzman retired from basketball; Dave DeBusschere, my ex-Knicks teammate, is now the general manager, but he can't do anything about my coaching fortunes. Jerry Krause seems to be the only person in the NBA world that I really keep in touch with. He just came back (note: Krause left basketball to work in professional baseball as a scout), but this is my network. Jay Li watched me play in college and we've known each other for 20 years."

In fact, when Jackson entered the 1967 NBA draft, Krause wanted the Baltimore Bullets to draft him.Klaus has always felt that Jackson was discovered by him, and he would never let go of the people he "invested" in. Therefore, even though Jackson's more than ten years of playing career has no direct relationship with him, Klaus still maintains the same relationship with Jackson. keep in touch.Krause thought Jackson was very smart, and he felt that sooner or later Jackson would become a good coach.

When Jackson was coaching in the CBA, Klaus called him once and asked him to provide some information about players who played in the CBA.Jackson took it very seriously, and he felt that this was the perfect opportunity to show Krause his intelligence.Jackson sat in front of the computer and made a detailed scouting report for every important player in the CBA at that time, and Krause appreciated it very much after reading it.Jackson was as good as he'd guessed, Klaus thought.

The 1987 interview was not the first time Krause gave Jackson a chance. In 1985, shortly after he became the general manager of the Bulls, he suggested that new coach Stan Albeck hire Jackson as an assistant.

"I was coaching in Puerto Rico," Jackson recalls, "and I flew straight in from San Juan [Puerto Rico's capital] and it was a rush. I had to drive to San Juan for an early morning flight. When you live in the subtropics, You'll be casual. I wore slippers most of the time I was there. I wore khaki slacks, a polo shirt, and an Ecuadorian straw hat. That hat is really expensive, it's not Like a panama hat is only 25 bucks, it's a 100 dollar hat, you can ask. As a little creative, I also put a parrot feather on it, which I got from a restaurant. I was in a restaurant with a The macaw played with it and plucked a feather from its tail and stuck it on top of the hat."

Jackson was still bearded at the time, so he went to see Albeck. "Stan and I had a very brief meeting," Jackson said, "and I knew right away that Stan wasn't going to hire me. Even though Jerry Krause locked us in a room and said, 'I want you guys to sit down and talk Tactics'. Stan found another topic to talk about."

According to Klaus's recollection, Albeck came over to tell him after chatting with Jackson that time: "I don't want this guy under any circumstances." In fact, Albeck may not be dissatisfied with Jackson's dressing.Klaus vetoed Albeck's No. 1 selection before, so Albeck's refusal to accept Jackson may also be out of revenge against Klaus.

In any case, when Krause asked Jackson to come to Chicago for an interview for the second time in 1987, he told him in advance: "I hope you get a haircut, wear a formal suit, and come here clean-shaven."

Jackson and another former Knick, Butch Beard, were the only two candidates for the assistant job.Jackson and coach Collins played against each other in the player era, and the two are old acquaintances.According to Jackson's new book "The Eleven Commandments" published in 2013, he and Collins hit it off almost immediately when they met. The two had dinner with Klaus. On the way back to the hotel, Collins told Jackson that he wanted to Find someone with championship history like Jackson to inspire the players.Two days later, Klaus notified Jackson of his appointment and gave him another suggestion: next time you come to Chicago, remember to bring your championship ring.

However, there is another rumor that after Collins interviewed Jackson and Beard, he didn't have any special feelings for them. In the end, it was Krause's insistence that Jackson entered the Bulls coaching staff.At that time, the NBA looked down on people like Jackson, and the reason why Krause supported Jackson seemed to be just to put someone of his own in the coaching staff.Krause seemed convinced that Jackson would be loyal to him because he was the one who gave Jackson his first coaching job in the NBA, but years later, the relationship between the two deteriorated to the point of incompatibility.

(End of this chapter)