Imrem: Reinsdorf, Krause both belong in Hall

Funny, but Chicago Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf never seemed like the kind of guy who could dunk a basketball.

Nor does he look like he ever had a killer crossover or shutdown defensive skills or the overall ability to stuff a stats sheet.

No wonder the headline over Mike McGraw's article in Tuesday's edition of this newspaper asked, "Reinsdorf gets the call, but does he belong in Hoops Hall?"

The inclination is to say yes he does, but to be honest, criteria for the basketball Hall of Fame murk up who is and isn't worthy.

Working with the premise that Reinsdorf is, it's because of two savvy decisions.

The first was to put together a group that outbid others in 1985 to buy the Bulls at a time when Michael Jordan was emerging as a transcendent figure in the game and the world.

The second was to hire Jerry Krause.

Another question in McGraw's article asked, " … why Reinsdorf and not former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause?"

Regardless of whether Reinsdorf belongs in the Hall, Krause does.

The irony is that both were both burdened and blessed by Jordan.

For Reinsdorf, the burden is that the Bulls haven't played at a championship level since he and Jordan parted after the 1997-98 championship season.

For Krause, the burden is the perception that anyone could win six NBA titles with the greatest player in history.

Look, Reinsdorf was lucky to be the owner who had Jordan and Krause was lucky to be the general manager who had Jordan.

But luck only gets you to the basket; only the right moves enable you to finish.

Hiring Krause as GM was unconventional. He had earlier experience as a basketball executive but in 1985 was a baseball scout with the White Sox, Reinsdorf's other local sports franchise.

The question was - I know because I asked it of the chairman at Krause's introductory news conference - what in the world was Reinsdorf thinking by placing the Bulls' future and Jordan's potential in the hands of a baseball scout?

Reinsdorf's response essentially was a casual, "If it doesn't work, we'll replace him with someone else."

It worked. The Bulls won those six NBA titles, Krause held the job for two decades and with Reinsdorf and Jordan made Chicago a pro basketball town.

Easy to build around a great player? Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers how easy it is to build around LeBron James.

Jordan didn't have to search out championship-caliber teammates like James did in Miami. Krause did the leg work, including acquiring the perfect No. 2 in Scottie Pippen.

Critics tend to forget that Jordan was so dominant that not every great player would fit with him, complement him and defer to him.

Would Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins or any other all-time great from the Jordan Era have played Robin to Batman?

Maybe, but maybe not.

There's no maybe about Pippen and the others Krause acquired for Jordan: They did help Jordan win six titles.

If nothing else, that qualifies Krause for the Hall.

If nothing else, hiring a baseball guy to build a six-time NBA champion around Jordan qualifies Reinsdorf, too.

Maybe neither of the Jerrys can slam dunk - or is a slam dunk - but both belong in the Hall of Fame.

mimrem@dailyherald.com