Now that Jerry Krause is gone from Chicago could it be time for the Bulls to finally start to re-assemble a championship team.... from the past?

Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports: Scottie Pippen recently said that he holds no bitter feelings towards Krause and if he met with him he'd "buy him a beer", but Pippen's kind words about the Bulls do not stop here.

In a surprising spin Pippen, 36, will become a free agent this summer and hopes Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will keep him in mind.

''If [the Bulls] were to offer me a spot on the roster for at least the mid-level exception [roughly $4.6 million] and a place in management helping to build the team, I would be crazy not to consider it,'' Pippen said. ''If Michael Jordan and other former Bulls like John Paxson and B.J. Armstrong were also in the plan, that would sound like a winner.''

In his fourth season with the Trail Blazers, Pippen recently expressed his dismay over the numerous off-court incidents that have earned Portland the tag ''Jail Blazers.''

''We've had some problems, but I think they are behind us now and we obviously have a very talented team that is capable of doing well in the playoffs,'' Pippen said. ''Then when the season is over, my first preference would be to re-sign with the Blazers because they are a fine organization and they are very good to me. But since nothing is guaranteed, I have to keep all my options open. And if I got the opportunity to play for the Bulls or the Los Angeles Lakers, I'd have to consider them.''