“It was never suggested” – Phil Jackson revealed what the Bulls could’ve done to make him and Michael Jordan stay originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The late former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause made it clear to Phil Jackson that he would go even if the team went 82-0 in the 1997-98 season. On the other hand, Michael Jordan also let the Bulls front office know that he wouldn’t stay and play for another coach other than Jackson.
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Krause’s decision led to the Bulls’ “The Last Dance,” a farewell run which Jackson felt could’ve been prevented from happening. According to Phil, he couldn’t do anything if Krause wanted to get rid of him. However, they could’ve done something to convince Jordan to stick around.
For Jackson he would probably consider coaching the Bulls for longer just to ensure Jordan wouldn’t retire. However, he never got the chance to be in that situation.
“On the bus ride to our shootaround, assistant GM Jim Stack tells me Jerry Reinsdorf just gave an extensive interview about the club’s future and not to be surprised if the media are all over me. They were — five deep, asking, ‘Are you really the one responsible for the breakup of the Bulls?’ I deflected them, saying, ‘We have a very important game tonight, and if we don’t win the championship, everything is moot.’ Yes, it’s time for me to take some time off. The only thing management could have said that would have changed things is, ‘Stay on until Michael is finished, so we can be sure we have him back until he retires.’ But it was never suggested,” Phil wrote in 1998 via ESPN.
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How MJ would’ve stayed in Chicago even without Phil
As the Bulls‘ Last Dance unfolded, Krause remained adamant about his plan to rebuild. He would’ve wanted Jordan to stay, but he couldn’t say the same thing about Jackson.
For MJ, it was plain and simple – if Jackson’s out, he’s out. However, Jordan admitted that maybe, just maybe, he would’ve opted to stay with the Bulls even without Phil as the coach if the team could find a way to recruit his UNC coach and mentor Dean Smith.
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“[Phil] He didn’t have a future in front of him right now, so he considers it to be ‘The Last Dance.’ I’m like the same way. I’m considering this to be the moment until something is shown in the future, for the future,” Jordan told Stuart Scott in an interview. “Would there be another coach for me to play for? I have not thought about it in a sense other than Dean Smith, you know, [but] I don’t think he’s coming back at it in coaching.”
The Bulls never found another Jordan-type player
Just as Krause planned, the Bulls let go of Jackson after the ’98 Finals. MJ also retired that summer and the majority of the Bulls’ veterans also left the team. It is now widely regarded as the end of an era in the NBA.
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Krause and the Bulls moved on from Jackson and MJ. With his team management skills, Krause did his best to recruit pieces that could build the team’s new foundation, but to no avail.
The Bulls were able to sign a few notable players but none of them ever replaced Jordan. To this day, Chicago has yet to assemble a squad that could beat or even match the depth of the Jackson and Jordan-led ’90s Bulls.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.