During the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s, Hall of Fame small forward Scottie Pippen famously and repeatedly clashed with general manager Jerry Krause — as documented in the second episode of ESPN's the “The Last Dance” docu-series which premiered last April 19.
Pippen's ire stemmed from a combination of Krause's grating personality and the fact that he was criminally underpaid. Krause came close to dealing the disgruntled superstar on multiple occasions, including a near-deal on draft day in 1997 that would have netted the Bulls another future Hall of Famer in Tracy McGrady.
During a segment on “The Jump” on Wednesday (April 22), McGrady said the first thing that stuck out to him about the docu-series was the section covering Krause's attempts to “dismantle the team” at the end of the run “because he almost was a part of that.”
“For me, I have a personal connection, cause he tried to trade Scottie Pippen for me on draft night.” Tracy McGrady recalled of the Bulls drama. “The last hours before draft night, I flew to Chicago and got a physical and had conversations with Jerry Krause and everything. And he was real serious about trying to get me in that draft.”
As Rachel Nichols pointed out (which McGrady validated), Michael Jordan squashed the potential deal.
At the time of the June 1997 draft, the Bulls had just won their fifth title of the decade, though Pippen went into the offseason facing foot surgery (which, as covered in the doc, he controversially postponed until the fall).
Toronto selected McGrady out of Auburndale High School with the no. 9 pick. T-Mac would spend the first three years of his Hall of Fame career north of the border, alongside his cousin and fellow young star Vince Carter.
Watch the full segment below:
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