And you thought that Jerry Krause hated Jordan...

Perhaps the hatred isn't mutual afterall, with K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reporting that Krause was amongst the many who gave M.J. a standing ovation as His Airness took to the United Center court in an opposition uniform for only the second time.

Krause also acknowledged in the article that he enjoys watching Jordan play in a different uniform.

"Yeah, because he plays the right way," Krause said. "I'm a purist. And I like the game being played the way it should be played.

"He plays it with his mind and his body. There has probably never been an athlete as good as he is. But there have been some great athletes who haven't done what they could have done because they didn't have his mind."

Johnson also writes that Krause even suggested that Jordan might carry a different opinion of him?dare he say an appreciation?now that Jordan has worn the general manager's hat.

I think once you do it, yeah," Krause said. "I don't know that he has because I haven't talked to him about it. But I do know that once you do this job, guys get an appreciation for it."

Krause also praised Jordan for not taking the easy route when he injured his finger while cutting a cigar before the lockout season of 1998-99, an injury which would have kept him out for the majority of the season and lessened any chance the Bulls had of a fourth straight title even if everyone had returned.

"He could have taken $30 million and not played, and he didn't," Krause said. "I don't know if he could have passed a physical with that finger. He needed that year off.

"One of the great things about Michael is he never complained about his [long-term] contract. We told him at the time, 'Michael, this is going to be outdated in two or three years.' And it was. And he never said a word. I can't say that for some other people."

"He's the best player who ever lived," Krause said. "He's the best competitor I've ever known. Those are the things I admire. Those are the things that count. Over the long haul, they count."