2. Traded Olden Polynice For Scottie Pippen
This move. THIS MOVE. My God, Jerry deserves the Hall for this move alone. On draft night in 1987, Krause traded Olden Polynice (whom the Bulls selected 8th overall) to the Seattle SuperSonics for Scottie Pippen (whom Seattle picked 5th overall) in a deal that likely defined the NBA landscape for a decade.
Polynice was a highly-touted prospect from a strong college program at Virginia. He helped the UVA Cavaliers reach the Final Four as a #7 seed in 1984. In 1986, he earned All-ACC honors.
Scottie, on the other hand, was a lesser known commodity. Because of a late growth spurt, Pip did not receive any college scholarship offers. In 1983, he made the squad at NAIA’s Central Arkansas as a walk-on. By his senior year, Pippen averaged a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. That drew the attention of a few NBA scouts, but most weren’t that impressed considering the lower level of competition in the NAIA. But Krause saw gold to be mined when scouting the lanky kid. The length, the defense, the passing and strong drives to the hoop. Pippen wasn’t a strong shooter, but Krause didn’t care. Scottie, just like Horace, was his kind of people.
Polynice went on to have a decent NBA career, but nothing compared to Pippen. The always-reliable Robin to MJ’s Batman, Scottie gave the Bulls the second star they needed to win six titles. He finished his Bulls career with 7 All Star appearances, 7 All-NBA selections and 8 All-Defensive selections. He, along with threepeat teammates Jordan and Rodman, is in the Hall of Fame.
Good call on that one, Jerr.
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