TIM Floyd was a teenager when John Lennon walked away from the Beatles, and when he went on to become coach he had the belief the biggest things just wouldn’t last — they simply implode.
In the case of the great Chicago Bulls squad of the 1990s, Floyd invoked the Fab Four comparison to convince general manager Jerry Krause not to break up Michael Jordan's Bulls.
Floyd met with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf in the first season of what would become a three-pointer, the one picked to take over from Phil Jackson.
Iowa State was then flourishing under Floyd, and Jerry Krause wanted to bring in the young brilliant college coach to the big league and send Jackson packing.
Floyd did not want it, at that time at least — taking the job three seasons later, staying for four.
In refusing the offer, Floyd told Reinsdorf to let the team “die its own death.”
The Beatles were together for eight years. Jordan’s Bulls didn’t last as long.
"I told Jerry Reinsdorf that day," Floyd said in an interview with ESPN 104.5 on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).
"I don't think Jerry [Krause] understands that these guys are basically the Beatles. This is the most popular franchise of all time. I said, 'If I'm you, I would not do this. Not even the following year. Let it die a natural death because there are certain teams and players that you just don't break up. I think these guys have earned the right to let it die its own death.'"
"Jerry Reinsdorf asked me, 'Tim, would you tell Jerry Krause what you told me in downtown Seattle about next year?'" Floyd said.
"I told Jerry Krause, and he said you don't understand, I can't do it. I don't want to work with Phil again. I said, 'Why don't you work downtown and let Phil work out of the other place?' Y'all just stay the hell away from each other because it's working."
After a third championship, the Bulls couldn’t make the playoffs the season after, without Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.