By Mark Alesia
SportsLine Senior Writer

They often strolled down the hall before games at the United Center, a short man and a shorter lady, holding hands.

Thelma Krause always kept a smile on her face. She had to know heads would turn. After all, hand-holding didn't exactly match her husband Jerry's image as the secretive and, to some, villainous general manager of the Chicago Bulls.

With six NBA championships, Krause would be hailed as a hero in a lot of places.

Chicago boos him loudly.

The Krauses couldn't even marry off their daughter two years ago without a public controversy involving invitations to the wedding. Tim Floyd was on the list. Phil Jackson was not. Thelma felt compelled to call a radio talk show and explain.

In a recent newspaper Q & A, Krause had to endure a stunningly rude question: "Do you feel that people in general dislike you?"

IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, KRAUSE WILL take his seat at Saturday's NBA Draft lottery, the future of the Bulls depending on him.

"I don't even worry about getting knocked," Krause said Thursday. "I look in the mirror. I look at myself. My father's buried here. My responsibility is to him, (Bulls owner) Jerry (Reinsdorf) and a lot of older people who built ideals in me a long time ago."

Krause once said "organizations win championships." His critics would say serendipity wins championships, such as when the Bulls landed Michael Jordan -- pre-Krause -- with the third draft choice in 1984.

Fifteen years later, this is the situation many believe Krause wanted -- the chance to prove the titles weren't all about Michael. Krause denies that emphatically, but either way, the rebuilding of the Bulls starts in a television studio in Secaucus, N.J.

Last season was about landing a high draft choice. It was about Floyd learning the NBA game and disarming potential enemies in the media. He accomplished both with smarts and charm.

Now it is time for the Bulls -- read: Krause -- to produce. They are likely to end up with one of the top three picks. The have a 15.7 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick. They can do no worse than sixth. They have plenty of salary cap space to spend on free agents.

But this isn't a quick fix. It might even be a tougher fix than anyone imagined. Several free agents re-signed with their own teams. Penny Hardaway isn't looking like a bargain. Grant Hill reportedly said he doesn't want to come to Chicago if he opts out of his contract following next season.

More serendipity would help. Is it Steve Francis? Lamar Odom? Local kid Corey Maggette?

Jerry Krause will get his chance to rebuild the Bulls.(AP)

"What it is is a piece of the puzzle," Krause said of the draft. "There are many ways to improve your team -- the draft, free agents, trades, your own signings, making your own people better."

Maggette raises the stakes. Riding a wave of hype about his potential, Maggette entered the draft after not even starting at Duke as a freshman. A year ago, he was at Fenwick High School.

PASSING ON MAGGETTE WOULD ONLY put Krause farther out on a limb that's already shaky. The perception of Krause is that he has a bias against choosing local players because of the distractions.

"In plain English, that's (not true)," Krause said. "If (Tim) Duncan had been born and raised in Chicago, you think I wouldn't have taken him? We haven't chosen earlier than 20th in 10 years. What I said publicly years ago is that in some cases it puts pressure on the player because of family and fans and hangers on from third grade who say, 'How about two tickets?' "

The old Bulls used to thrive on having villains, real and imagined. Krause was one of them. The public got the message. At halftime of the regular-season finale, during a ceremony to honor Jackson, Krause was booed loudly when his name came up.

But he said he has nothing to prove. He's says he's just competitive.

"When Auerbach lost Russell, he didn't roll over and die," Krause said. "He got Cowens and Silas and won two or three more championships. When they lost those guys, they got Parish. Each time, he didn't roll over and die."

The process is likely to take years, starting with the NBA's little game show Saturday.

"My nature is not to get crazy when we win championships, and I'm not going to get crazy over this," Krause said. "I just hope we don't make it a habit."