Coach Stan Albeck blasted the Bulls` management after he was fired Monday, but he saved his sharpest criticism for general manager Jerry Krause, calling him an ”overbearing personality.” Albeck said Krause was constantly interfering with the way he coached the team.
Meanwhile, the club was closing in on a deal to replace Albeck as head coach with CBS-TV analyst Doug Collins.
Albeck, 55, left town with the fourth-best record among active coaches.
”They have to have a scapegoat, but I don`t see how (owner) Jerry Reinsdorf could blame anybody for this year,” said Albeck. ”Can you blame broken bones? Can you blame drugs? If I had robbed a bank or used drugs, I could understand it. Hey, even the guys who use drugs in this league get two chances.
”I feel betrayed from the standpoint that there was a wedge driven between myself and Reinsdorf by Jerry Krause,” Albeck said. ”I was never able to meet with Reinsdorf alone, and Krause told me I couldn`t contact Reinsdorf at home late at night or when he was in Tucson visiting his wife. I honored that request. I was led to believe we would have frequent meetings, and I think Jerry Krause prevented that from happening.
”I honored the fact that he was the general manager, and I never leap-frogged over anybody. Lots of times I covered up for his mistakes and briefed him on what was the right approach. He had been away from the league for five years, and everything had changed. I feel betrayed. Looking back, it was probably a mistake to trust him.
”There was just a lot of interference by an overbearing personality. Krause would come into the locker room after games while I was meeting with the players. He had no business being there. There were press conferences held the night of a game. Right from training camp, I could tell it was a chaotic front office. There were all the gimmicks they thought to be possible solutions. The conditioning coaches, the sports psychologist. Remember when the psychologist told the players to `Lay down on the floor and think blue?`
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Krause, whose position is ”completely secure” according to Reinsdorf, disputed Albeck`s charges.
”Stan is a man who has just been fired, and he is lashing out at me because I`m an available target,” Krause said. ”Stan and I were friends, and in my years away from the NBA (as a White Sox scout), Stan used to call me and ask for help with any problems he had. It`s not true that I prevented him from meeting with Jerry. All he had to do was pick up a phone. And, I felt I had a right to be in the locker room after games. As for him covering up for me, I think the opposite is true.
”I have tried to be and have been totally above board in this situation and have tried in every way not to demean Stan. I am not lashing out at Stan; I am intentionally avoiding that. I am defending myself and setting the record straight.”
Krause hired Collins in March to evaluate the team over a four-game period. He claims Collins was not a candidate to replace Albeck at the time.
”I wanted him to do a consulting thing for us because I respected Doug`s ability and basketball knowledge,” Krause said. ”I didn`t tell Stan about it because it was a scouting function, and Stan has nothing to do with it.”
”Yeah, but how often do you bring in a consultant who ends up taking your job?” Albeck said.
Reinsdorf said Monday that he and Albeck had had a misunderstanding right from the start about how Reinsdorf wanted the Bulls to be coached.
Albeck`s strategy of isolating Michael Jordan and Orlando Woolridge against the Boston Celtics almost paid off in Game 2 of the Celtics` three-game playoff sweep of the Bulls.
”I think they`re unrealistic in their approach to NBA situations,”
Albeck said. ”I`ve had other coaches in the NBA say that was a helluva an idea, and some are adopting it. Houston is using it right now against the Lakers. I`ve coached every style of basketball, and to have Jerry Reinsdorf say he doesn`t share my basketball philosophy, well, that`s his prerogative. It`s also insightful about his NBA knowledge.
”My philosophy evolved from being an assistant coach for nine years and a head coach for seven. If Reinsdorf feels that strongly about his basketball philosophy, he should coach. He doesn`t need a coach.”
Reinsdorf said he ”fell in love” with Collins, 34, after a 3 1/2-hour meeting with the former 76er star last Friday in Arizona. He said they share the same philosophical approach to the game. But how was Collins different from Albeck?
”I learned something in all this,” Reinsdorf said. ”Last year when I interviewed Stan, I made the mistake of telling him first what I believed in and all about my basketball philosophy. Stan just relayed back to me what I said. This time, I made Doug talk first, and I discovered we share a common approach to the game.
”Stan is a competent NBA coach. What we did was traded a good coach for someone who could be a great coach for the next 10 years. Doug will play it differently, and we`ll find out if it`s a better way to play the game.”
