Remember Michael Jordan? He's the guy who, two seasons ago, still felt the need to scratch that itch.

So what is this going around Charlotte just now, a full-on rash?

	When Michael Jordan was walking off the court for the last time, was he also walking away from the Wizards?

Jordan isn't returning to the Washington Wizards, despite the happy talk about Jordan wanting to stay on with the team and rebuild those burned bridges with owner Abe Pollin and Pollin's hand-picked crew of skeptical top executives. Now, there rests the expansion franchise in Charlotte, waiting. There rests new owner Robert Johnson, and, potentially, a long-term, front-office future with Jordan in it.

What might pique Jordan's interest in such a future is obvious enough: He's a god in the Carolinas (as opposed to, say, most everywhere else on an NBA map?); he starts with a clean slate and plenty of cap room; he's likely to be given almost free rein. You don't need a weatherman to tell you why the winds might blow Jordan to Charlotte, in the end.

What is remarkably more difficult to fathom is why business-first Bob Johnson, or anyone else at this point, would be so keenly interested in having Michael Jordan direct the fortunes of his franchise. Let's put it bluntly: Based upon MJ's recent history, what's in it for Charlotte?

The question about Jordan's front-office acumen arises, and there's no way to broach it delicately. Michael Jordan as a player, of course, is beyond reproach and always will be. He'll even be forgiven this last, lamentable two-year itch-scratching with the Wizards, when he descended from the team presidency, threw on a uniform and scored a whole bunch of points for a team that twice couldn't sniff the playoffs even in the unfortunate Eastern Conference.

The Wizards lost, but at least they put fannies in the building. Jordan was good for that, to the tune of perhaps $20 million in profit this season. Credit where due -- and most any team, its public pronouncements notwithstanding, would be happy to put Mike in a uniform for exactly that purpose.

But Jordan in the leather chair, pulling the strings -- that's another issue. The Wizards can speak to that with some authority. And perhaps they did when Pollin announced on Wednesday that the team was cutting ties with MJ.

Jordan was hired by Pollin and Ted Leonsis in January 2000, and Washington hasn't seen the postseason since his arrival. That span of time includes a complete roster turnover, the firing of Garfield Heard as coach, the hiring of Leonard Hamilton, and the subsequent "resignation" of Hamilton in favor of Doug Collins, a man who completed this 37-45 season by bitterly acknowledging that roughly half the team had turned on him.

That span includes Jordan's clearing significant cap room, but also his trading away Richard Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse. It includes ridding the Wizards of contracts like Juwan Howard's, but also taking on long-term projects like Kwame Brown that have yet to return on investment.

The Wizards' record since Jordan joined the franchise is 110-179. That's both with Jordan as a suit and Jordan suited up. They don't generally retire numbers to the rafters based upon that kind of standing.

In short, Jordan's time in Washington's front office didn't do much to establish him as a perennial All-Star executive. He raised the Wizards' fortunes mostly by being on the court. Alas, he won't have the chance to improve on that as president.

All of which brings us back to Charlotte, and reality. The fantasy is something quite different. The fantasy includes Jordan putting a mug on a heretofore faceless expansion franchise -- and not just any mug, but perhaps the most broadly recognized mug in sports history this side of Muhammad Ali. Michael Jordan in your organization guarantees national recognition and interest.

It does, at least, until the players actually begin playing games.

Maybe Jordan needs more time to grow as a front-office decision-maker. It's a question of how much time, really. Which brings us to a franchise in Charlotte. You wonder if anyone is asking the questions there.

Mark Kreidler is a columnist with the Sacramento Bee and a regular contributor to ESPN.com