Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune believe that the Bulls summer period has been a failure thanks to one person: Jerry Krause.  After a strong start with the drafting of Jay Williams, Lonny Baxter and Roger Mason the Bulls looked to be turning it around.  Their main need in free agency was a power forward/center type player to help out youngters Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, but after signing only Corie Blount and Donyell Marshall Smith only rates Krause's offseason manouvering as a 'D'.

Why is Smith being so critical?  The answer is Keon Clark.  Clark would have been a starter on the Bulls, would have filled their most glaring need, and most importantly he has only missed one game in the last three seasons.  He was a starter on the Toronto Raptors when the team made their push for playoff contention, replacing hall of famer Hakeem Olajuwon, and he showed interest in becoming a Bull.  But offseason trouble which saw him arrested on marijuana possession scared Krause out the idea of signing him to a contract according to team representatives, Krause instead opting for a player similar to Marcus Fizer who plays the same position as Eddie Robinson.  'The sin was refusing to interview Clark, apparently because he may be a sinner,' writes Smith.

The Sacramento Kings took a punt on Clark for a relatively cheap price, continuing the trend of teams who have been down taking a chance to get their team back up.  Thus far, Smith indicates, Krause has been unwilling to take such chances.  'Geoff Petrie did with Chris Webber and now Clark. Rod Thorn did with Jason Kidd after a spousal-abuse arrest and now Dikembe Mutombo, Rodney Rogers and Chris Childs. Chris Wallace did with Rogers and Tony Delk and now Vin Baker, and Joe Dumars did with Cliff Robinson after a marijuana arrest,' writes Smith, but not Krause.  'Perhaps Krause also fears the pressure now. With the team the Bulls have now, few can realistically expect them to make the playoffs. If they had signed Clark and then added a veteran such as Marshall, they could have been considered playoff contenders. But then what if they didn't make it? Who would be to blame? Perhaps Krause sees it safer to keep rebuilding, which the Bulls seem to be doing.'