| | WASHINGTON -- 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.
|  | | Jordan said he'll attend some practices but doesn't want to be overbearing. |
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.
Jordan also is still making new business deals outside
basketball. This week, his Jump Inc. announced that he was joining
the board of directors of divine interVentures, a fledgling Lisle,
Ill.-based firm that invests in Internet-related businesses. Seven
weeks ago, he teamed with Wayne Gretzky and John Elway to launch
MVP.com, an online sporting goods business.
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." | |
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