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Inside the NBA
Posted: Wednesday January 19, 2000 01:45 PM
As a co-owner Michael Jordan would bring sorely needed cachet to the woeful Wizards By Jackie MacMullan
When Michael Jordan retired from basketball for the second time, on Jan. 13, 1999, his good friend and former Bulls teammate Darrell Walker predicted that MJ wouldn't be on the sidelines for long. "Mike's got to stay busy," Walker said. "I bet he owns an NBA team within two years." Walker could have cut that estimate in half. Jordan is poised to take over as head of basketball operations of the Wizards -- contingent on a suitable agreement that will guarantee him partial ownership of the team. Abe Pollin holds the majority interest in the Wizards and the MCI Center, while a group headed by America Online executive Ted Leonsis has a 44% stake and the right of first refusal should the 75-year-old Pollin sell. Pollin, who has repeatedly said he has no immediate plans to relinquish the Wizards, knows Jordan well. The two jawed at each other during the 1998-99 lockout; at one point an angry Jordan admonished him to "just sell your team." Team sources say that exchange has had no bearing on negotiations. There was little doubt Jordan would return to the NBA in a hands-on ownership role. He had the money, the time and the backing of commissioner David Stern, who has sought qualified minority owners for close to a decade. Last May, Jordan nearly bought half of the Hornets, but when he wasn't guaranteed total control by the team's tightfisted owner, George Shinn, he moved on. Within a month, say league sources, Jordan turned his sights to Washington. But if ownership is inevitable, why the urgency? One thing Jordan should have learned from his guru, Phil Jackson, is that when you put your reputation on the line, make sure you're likely not to fail. Jackson chose to coach the Lakers over the Knicks and the Nets, and that was a relatively sure thing. The Wizards are not. Washington has established itself as the league's most underachieving franchise (notwithstanding Hawks president Stan Kasten's claim last week that his team deserves that title). At week's end the Wizards were 12-26 and last in the Atlantic Division despite a roster that includes All-Stars Juwan Howard and Mitch Richmond and perhaps the best current player never to be an All-Star, Rod Strickland. That trio anchors a club that lacks passion, leadership and any semblance of unity. Can Jordan instill all that? Strickland says the mere mention of Jordan's name will bring cachet to a franchise that at the moment has none. He may be right. Two years ago Chris Mullin, looking to get out of Golden State, had no interest in being traded to the Pacers. But when he learned that Larry Bird would be taking over as coach, Mullin changed his mind. Washington is already excited at the prospect of Jordan's signing one of the major free agents, Grant Hill or Tim Duncan, this summer, but how would he compensate them? Howard has four years left on his seven-year, $105 million deal; Strickland is halfway through a four-year, $40 million contract; Richmond is in year two of his $40 million pact; and disappointing center Ike Austin, who wants to be traded, has two years to go on a three-year, $15 million deal. Richmond and Strickland are base-year players, making them almost impossible to trade. Even Jordan can't click his Nikes and make those salary-cap constraints vanish. The high-priced Howard would be Jordan's most vexing problem. As one Eastern Conference coach says, "Juwan's athletic talent is not such that you can just throw him out there and expect him to excel. He needs structure to highlight his strengths. He must recognize he's not a superstar and stop trying to play like one." Still, if MJ tells the crowd, "Please stop booing Juwan Howard, it's not helping our team," my guess is the masses will be reduced to a respectful hush. Were general manager Wes Unseld to try that, he'd be hooted off the floor. Maybe Jordan is the man to help Howard see the light. Or maybe Jordan has already huddled with his (and Howard's) agent, David Falk, and discussed scenarios that could move Howard. Oh, by the way: Falk represents the lethargic Strickland, too. It's scary, really, to consider what could happen down the line if Falk were to steer top clients in the direction of the Wizards and Jordan, who, after all, is the reason Falk wields the power he does. No doubt the league will insist on a formal severing of Falk's and MJ's ties as agent and client, but that's merely a tiny logistical detail. While a three- or four-year plan to reinvent the Wizards seems reasonable, a turnaround by next season doesn't. Of course, if the 36-year-old Jordan wanted a quick fix, he'd sign himself. Don't count on that, though. Sources close to him say that's not part of the blueprint -- not now, not ever. When I asked Jordan's friends why he jumped at this opportunity instead of holding out for a sure thing, the answers varied. He's looking at the business, not the basketball. He's bored and impatient. He loves the challenge of doing it the hard way. He knows something we don't. One thing we do know if this agreement goes through: Instantly the Wizards will be transformed into an intriguing franchise. That in itself would be an accomplishment. Issue date: January 24, 2000
For more Inside the NBA see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, January 19. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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