J-Crawford shares how recognizing legendary players in Krause's office helped him get drafted by the Bulls

Jamal Crawford was among the top prospects in the 2000 NBA Draft, and many expected him to be picked in the Top 10. True enough, Crawford was selected 8th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who immediately traded his draft rights to the Chicago Bulls for the 7th pick in the same draft, Chris Mihm.

During his recent appearance on the Run Your Race podcast, Crawford talked about working out for the Bulls and how his ability to identify the names of NBA greats on the photos displayed on the wall of then-GM Jerry Krause 's office probably helped Chicago decide to take him instead of Mihm.

"He had like a lot of pictures on the wall, and I was the only player that he's ever had come through that identified the people in the picture, it's Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld," said Crawford.

Krause had a three-day workout for draft prospects

Jerry was the longtime GM of the Bulls. He entered the league with Michael Jordan in 1985 and held the position until 2003. As an old-school executive, Krause had old-school principles. To him, knowledge of the game was important.

According to Crawford, if you worked out for Jerry back then, it would last three days. However, only one day was dedicated to actual court drills. Day two was spent watching film and breaking down plays. The third day was like a psyche test, and it included identifying legends who paved the way for the game. JC passed the examination.

"I didn't know at that time, but that probably helped get me drafted," added Crawford. "He's like, 'He's a student of the game.' He told somebody who works in the league now about that. He never told me the story, Krause did. He told this person like, 'You need to bring him to work him in the front office because he's a student of the game'. He's like, 'Krause told me to come and get you because you're such a student of the game.'"

Krause had a master plan

And so Crawford ended up as one of three first-round picks the Bulls had that 2000 summer. Chicago also picked No.32 to No.34 in the second round to give them six total rookies from the draft class. The Bulls signed all six rookies as part of Krause's grand plan to snag the three biggest free agents of the 2000 free agency.

"So, obviously, MJ just retired, right?" Jamal explained . "We have all this cap space, and so we have all these rookies. And he was like, we're gonna get—go back and look, I guarantee Grant, Tim, and T-Mac were all free agents. And Jerry wholeheartedly believed we would get all three of them."

However, the Bulls didn't get any of the three and ended up signing Ron Mercer and Brad Miller. With a young and inexperienced group, Chicago lost 24 out of their first 27 games and finished the season with a 15-67 record.

One year after Krause left as GM, Crawford was traded to the New York Knicks. Coincidentally, one of the legends he tagged in Jerry's office, The Pearl, played for the Knicks.

Related: "Your love for the game…that's so rare" - Jamal Crawford reveals why MJ decided to become his mentor in the NBA