Steve Kerr doesn’t buy the easy version of the 1998 Bulls breakup.
The nostalgia around that Chicago team has turned into its own kind of basketball mythology, with the same questions resurfacing again and again: Could they have kept winning? Would six titles have become more?
What if Jerry Krause had held the group together? And would Michael Jordan have walked away a second time?
Kerr, who was part of that Bulls run from 1994 to 1998, sees it differently, according to Logan Murdock of The Ringer. Asked whether he would have accepted Krause keeping Jordan while reshaping the roster, Kerr said the answer would have been “Very different.” His point was blunt: Jordan was worth keeping, but the rest of the team needed a new look.
“The age of guys was different,” Kerr said. “First of all, ’98, that team was done.
That doesn’t mean you send Michael Jordan packing, but that team as it was constituted was done. So it’s revisionist history to say Jerry Krause should have kept that team together and we would’ve won another three titles.
That team was done. We were emotionally exhausted, spent, physically spent.
So in hindsight, knowing the league, knowing what I knew about that team, now having the view from above, from having a grasp for coaching and front-office stuff, you keep Michael Jordan, and you keep some of the guys, but you go out, and you change the roster around him however you can.”
After the Bulls won their sixth championship in 1998, the breakup came quickly. Jordan retired for the second time.
Scottie Pippen moved on to the Houston Rockets. Kerr joined the San Antonio Spurs and won a championship in 1999.
Dennis Rodman signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Phil Jackson also stepped away briefly before eventually returning to coach the Lakers.
In Other News...
Leonard Miller Is Giving The Bulls A Patrick Williams Problem
Leonard Millers preseason and early regular-season run has given the Bulls something they did not necessarily have on the wing-forward depth chart: a real alternative to keep in mind if they decide Patrick Williams is no longer the right long-term bet. Miller flashed enough scoring touch, rebounding and defensive flexibility to look like more than just a camp body, and that matters for a team that has been searching for stability at that spot.
The question now is how Chicago weighs that upside against the realities of Williams contract and production. Millers case is less about flash than fit, the kind of backup forward profile that can help patch together a rotation, and the Bulls could have a difficult call on their hands when they map out the 2026-27 season. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Giddey Put A Bulls Roster Question Front And Center
Josh Giddeys first game of the 2026-27 season did little to settle one of the Bulls more important questions. In Chicagos loss to Toronto, the third-year guard had a rough offensive night, and the Raptors physical defense never let him get comfortable. The ballhandling issues were obvious enough to put the discussion around his role right back in focus.
For the Bulls, this is about more than one opener. Giddey can still fill box scores and help move the ball, but Chicago needs more than activity from him if he is going to be a reliable piece of the offense. His future with the team will hinge on whether he can turn those possessions into a real and sustainable edge, rather than just passing flashes that do not fully tilt the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Get One Encouraging Return As Another Injury Concern Lingers
The Bulls are getting at least one piece back as they open the regular season shorthanded, with Zach Collins available again after a quad injury kept him out of the mix. Head coach Tiago Splitter said the plan is to bring Collins along gradually, which matters for a frontcourt that is already working without starting center Nic Claxton and needs every healthy body it can get.
The bigger long-term concern may be in the backcourt, where Josh Giddey acknowledged a wrist issue that surfaced in the preseason and is going to have to be managed as the year unfolds. For a team trying to settle into a rotation early, the contrast is clear: one return offers some relief in the frontcourt, while another injury note hangs over a key perimeter piece and adds another layer of uncertainty to the Bulls start. [Read more 🡒]