Hall-of-Fame GM Jerry Krause has something of a complicated legacy with Knicks fans. The former Bulls executive, who was elected to Springfield a few days after his death earlier this year, largely built the teams which tormented New York throughout the ‘90s. But he also engineered the trade which landed the Knicks their beloved enforcer, Charles Oakley. Oh, and Krause hired Phil Jackson as head coach, setting the Zen Master on his own Hall-of-Fame path, one that eventually caught the eye of Knicks owner James Dolan.
But Krause’s legacy as an inscrutable scouting genius lives on behind the scenes in one of his greatest pupils, Knicks scouting adviser Clarence Gaines.