Bulls' GM Krause resigns, citing health problems

Deerfield, Ill. -- Jerry Krause had a rare eye for talent, assembling two very different supporting casts for Michael Jordan and laying the foundation for the Chicago Bulls' decade of dominance.\nIt's the destruction of the championship team that will be Krause's legacy, though.\nThe man blamed for breaking up the Bulls' dynasty and driving Jordan out of Chicago resigned as general manager Monday, stepping down for health reasons with only a week left in the season.\n"Physically, he wasn't feeling that great. He's had a lot of stress on him," said Bulls coach Bill Cartwright, the center on Chicago's first three championship teams.\n"I think it'd be easier to walk away with a championship, obviously," Cartwright said. "But he and I had an opportunity to talk this morning, and I basically told him, 'You should be really proud of what you've accomplished.' I know he is, but it's really tough to walk away with the mission not totally completed."\nChicago (27-50) will finish with a losing record for the fifth straight season and miss the playoffs again. The Bulls have won only three road games all season.\nKrause, 64, didn't elaborate on his health problems. But he's been bothered by a variety of ailments in recent years and has had a bad back all season.\n"The rigors and stress of the job have caused me some minor physical problems in the past few years," he said in statement released by the team. "Those problems can be eliminated if I lessen my load for a while and concentrate on overcoming them."\nStill, his decision caught everyone by surprise. Players said Krause was emotional when he met with them before practice Monday, and he left the Bulls' practice facility without speaking to reporters. So did Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.\n"The whole thing is sad," guard Jamal Crawford said. "People criticize him a lot for different things ... but he had a vision."\nOthers couldn't always see it, though.\nThe Bulls already had Jordan when Krause became GM in 1985, but it was Krause who found the pieces that formed a dynasty.\nHis most brilliant move came in 1987. In one of the best deals in NBA history, he maneuvered with Seattle for the draft rights to Scottie Pippen, who went on to become Jordan's famous sidekick and was selected as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players in 1996.