|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Forget Waldo, where's M.J.? Jordan's absences becoming conspicuous in D.C.
Posted: Monday March 13, 2000 09:43 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Michael Jordan is not in the arena, which means the owners' box is usually dark. He's no longer staring down and trash-talking his players while driving the paint at practice. He's not even in town. His Airness' commuter job as Washington Wizards part-owner and president of basketball operations has become a stay-at-home job. Jordan hasn't attended a game at the MCI Center since the Feb. 24 trading deadline, the day the basketball immortal realized he was a mere front office mortal when it came to reviving the miserable Wizards. Jordan, in New York on Monday to receive the Jackie Robinson Foundation's Robie Humanitarian Award, said he will be at both Wizards home games this week. He said he will be a regular at MCI Center, but noted, "I will pick and choose the times." But he won't be on the court. "He can't play," coach Darrell Walker said. "He can't make a shot. What is he going to do because he's in the stands? He sat in the stands before and we got beat by 20. ... Being in the crowd is not going to help. You control your own destiny on the court." Jordan also couldn't trade, and that just about killed any hope of salvaging the season. He initially tried to kick-start the team by firing the coach and joining in at practices, but he soon realized what everyone else already knew: The Wizards don't have the talent or the chemistry to win, and the only way to improve them would be to trade one of their star players' huge, long and virtually untradeable contracts. Jordan couldn't pull it off, so he went home to Chicago. "What's going to be the big difference?" point guard Rod Strickland said. "I don't know how many player personnel directors or owners, or whatever he is, go to every game. That doesn't make a difference. We've got to go out and play when we step between the lines. Michael Jordan being there or not shouldn't have any bearing on the outcome of games." Jordan said he'll also attend some practices but doesn't want to be overbearing. "I don't want the players to worry about me being over their shoulders," he said. "But it is important to show the team I'm supporting them." The Wizards have actually played somewhat better since the last Jordan sighting in D.C. They are 4-5 since the trading deadline, including an overtime victory over New York last week. After that game, Jordan called Walker late at night and told the coach he was "having a drink for you and the guys" after watching the game on television. But, congratulatory phone calls aside, there's the nagging question of whether Jordan is already beset with Wizards malaise. Jordan has been known to change his mind when things don't go his way, so it's an open debate as to how long he'll stick to the task now that he realizes the depth of his team's problems. Wizards minority owner Ted Leonsis, who brokered the deal that brought Jordan to Washington, thinks Jordan is in it for the long haul. "I don't think Michael Jordan is doing anything until he wins a championship," said Leonsis, whose group also owns the NHL's Washington Capitals. "I don't think his being allows that. I don't think that's what he's about." Leonsis, however, doesn't deal with Jordan on basketball issues. The man who does, general manager Wes Unseld, regularly shoos off interview requests concerning Jordan. Unseld did not return calls seeking comment Monday. Unseld's silence is reflected throughout the organization. Bringing Jordan to Washington was a major coup, by far the team's biggest event of the season, yet there is not a single mention of him anywhere in the extensive media notes the staff prepares for each game. His coach at Chicago, Phil Jackson, will be in town Thursday as his Los Angeles Lakers play the Wizards. The Chicago Bulls come to the MCI Center on Saturday, but Jordan has few links with his old team. Besides, the Bulls have beaten the Wizards twice already this season. "I should be at both," Jordan said Monday. When Jordan signed on, the good-natured one-liner on everyone's lips was that the best way for Jordan to help the Wizards would be for him to suit up and play. Now, at least for this season, that appears to be the only way he could help them. "Maybe put on a jersey. That's about all he could do for us," guard Mitch Richmond said. "Maybe give us a couple more speeches, but that's about it."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
