|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
'Gut feeling' Wizards' owner: Chances are good Jordan will play
Updated: Tuesday April 10, 2001 2:13 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The owner of the Washington Wizards said he has a "gut feeling" that Michael Jordan will return to the NBA next season. In a story running on the front page of Tuesday's Washington Post, Wizards majority owner Abe Pollin said he believes the odds are that Jordan will play for the Wizards next season. Pollin stressed that he did not know if Jordan has made up his mind yet. "The odds are that he's going to come back," Pollin said. "I think he's going to decide whether he's going to be able to play at the level that is satisfying to him." Jordan, a part-owner and president of basketball operations for Washington, has consistently said that he's 99.9 percent sure he'll never play again. He was unavailable for comment Monday night. Pollin stressed to the Post that he was simply stating his opinion. "What I said was my gut feeling," Pollin said. "It's his decision. I didn't think he'd come back when I first heard the talk. But when Mario Lemieux came back to the Penguins, it stirred something in Michael." Lemieux, one of the owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, returned to the ice in December after retiring at the end of the 1997 season and led the Penguins into the playoffs. Pollin said he thinks Jordan, who won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, is going through a self-examination of sorts. Jordan has been working out recently, including practicing with the Wizards. "He's certainly working at seeing if he feels like he can' return," Pollin said. "He's told me when he has something to say about it, he'll tell me. "We'd welcome him with open arms," said Pollin, whose team's 18-59 record is third worst in the NBA. "It's his decision. It would have to be in his interest to come back and he would not do it unless he could perform at the standard he set for himself. "But it would be very exciting for everyone." In order for Jordan to play again under NBA rules, he would have to divest his ownership interest in the Wizards -- although he could find a caretaker to purchase his stake sell it back to him when he stops playing. "I am working out because I got up to 240 pounds and I'm trying to lose weight," Jordan said last month. "People are taking this stuff way too far, but I can't control what people write or think so I'm not going to address this any more." Some of the speculation about Jordan's return has been fueled by Jordan's close friend, Charles Barkley, who has said he would like to play with Jordan in Washington next season. Jordan retired in 1993 after winning three NBA titles and tried to make a career in professional baseball. But he returned for the NBA playoffs in 1995 and played through 1998, winning three more titles.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
