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Metta World Peace: Jerry Krause Said 7th Ring Would 'Destroy Those Other 6 Titles'
May 5, 2020
Former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was eager to win an NBA title without Michael Jordan and often discussed it with Metta World Peace.
The player formerly known as Ron Artest (and now known as Metta Ford-Artest) joined the team in 1999, one year after the Bulls' sixth championship in eight years. Jordan retired in 1998, while Scottie Pippen, head coach Phil Jackson and others also left the team.
As World Peace explained on the Tampering podcast, Krause was eager to find success without them.
"For me, it's like Jerry drafted me after Michael Jordan (played there), so for me, the Bulls were my favorite team," World Peace said (via Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic). "I played with them all the time on the video games, so as a 19-year-old kid, I'm like, 'Wow,' right?
"And then Jerry told me one day—I love Jerry—Jerry is like, 'Ron, we're gonna get (championship) No. 7, and you're gonna be here, and it's gonna just destroy those other six titles. Jerry would always say that. 'No. 7 is the most important one..."
The Bulls have not won a championship since, and Krause resigned in 2003.
Krause has been a key focal point of The Last Dance documentary, which covers the 1997-98 Bulls season. The GM has been portrayed somewhat as a villain who tried to take a lot of credit for the team's success.
"Players and coaches don't win championships—organizations do," Krause was quoted.
However, the Bulls went from 62-20 and an NBA title in 1997-98 to 13-37 in a lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign.
Chicago added Elton Brand with the No. 1 overall draft pick the next season and selected World Peace No. 16 overall out of St. John's. They weren't enough to replicate the success of the '90s as the Bulls went six years without even a playoff berth. Krause, who was hired as the Bulls GM in 1985, resigned in 2003.
World Peace eventually won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. The 40-year-old is a player development coach for the Lakers' G League affiliate. Krause died in 2017 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame that year posthumously.