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Sunday, January 23
He's back, but what does it really all mean?

By David Aldridge
Special to ESPN.com

Michael Jordan, Abe Pollin, President Clinton
It's a whole new ballgame now for Michael and the Wizards.
He's in my life again. God, I thought that was over.

Michael Jordan steps back into basketball, and I'm run over by camera crews, autograph seekers, business and lifestyle print reporters, all with that goofy, smiling look on their faces. Michaelmichaelmikemiichaelichal!! Over here! The hundreds of flashes, the reverential silence, the booming laughter at the most innocuous remark.

He's back. Again.

Here's the first thing that comes to mind. Say what you want about Michael Jordan's politics (not that you know anything about them), his endless endorsements, his, his, Michaelness, but you have to allow for one thing. The guy loves a challenge. He left in the most picture-perfect way possible, on a jumper to win a championship, and here he is again, putting his rep on the line by taking over one of the most godawful franchises in the league. While Phil Jackson made sure he stepped from six rings to Shaq and Kobe; while Riles took 10 seconds before getting Alonzo Mourning to anchor him in South Beach, Jordan has next to nothing in the cupboard in Washington, other than himself.

We've seen this before, when Jordan turned to baseball in his grief in 1993. Knowing he would face almost certain ridicule, and knowing he would almost certainly fail, Jordan stood at the plate and hacked away anyway.

Practically, Jordan's return to basketball has produced three questions: 1) Why Washington?; 2) Will he be a full-time, hands-on executive?; 3) Doesn't his relationship with uber-agent David Falk create a clear conflict of interest?

One at a time.

1) Why not Washington? People act like this is Saigon or something. Washington doesn't need to be defended. It's the capital of the free world, the center of political power and more than holds its own in terms of media and business. And this is what you have to keep in mind about Jordan's deal with Abe Pollin, Ted Leonsis and Jonathan Ledecky -- it's a business deal. The basketball is tangential. Leonsis, the AOL magnate, has the resources to hawk the Jordan Brand and anything else MJ wants to sell on the Internet and other new media outlets. AOL's headquarters, as well as the headquarters of several other Internet companies, are in the Washington suburbs. If you're not going to set up shop in New York or Los Angeles, where else would you go if you're a big-time business player?

(Full Disclosure: the author is a Washington, D.C., native, went to college there and has spent more than his fair share of local taxes there. In fact, Mr. Jordan, if you're not too busy, you might want to go down to Capitol Hill and look into this whole Taxation without Representation thing. Thanks in advance, David.)

"The Wizards, just now, became America's team," Leonsis said the other day. "And by using David Stern's magic on NBA.com and being able to get Michael back in the league, we feel we can build a lot of value here. And Michael is really a multi-media brand. He's a multi-media star ... it's really an interesting time for him. He gets to be competitive again and he gets to be a businessman, which he's quite talented at."

As far as the basketball goes, the risk to Jordan is minimal. He'll have the final say but (at least for now) he seems to be respectful of GM Wes Unseld.

Do the Wizards have bad contracts? Sure. Rod Strickland and Mitch Richmond each have eight-figure salaries and base-year compensation issues. With the luxury tax set to come down like an anvil in two years, few teams are going to want to take them. Juwan Howard goes out to $20 million by the end of his deal; no one wants him.

But the Wizards can buy out both Strickland and Richmond after next season. And they have a chance to get a high draft pick next season; the 2000 first-round pick they sent to Golden State as part of the Chris Webber deal is lottery protected for picks one through three. Washington, last in the Atlantic Division and with the fifth-worst record in the league, has at least a fighting chance in the lottery.

Bottom line: the Wiz would have to get very creative to get Grant Hill next summer. But keep in mind that the Commish has a soft spot in his heart for Abe Pollin. Pollin was chairman of the committee that recommended Stern to take over for Lawrence O'Brien in 1984. And Stern gave Pollin a mulligan on Howard after the Heat had taken him in 1996

2) You think Being John Malkovich is a full-time job? Try living Jordan's life. I just don't see how he can do all the endorsements and play all the golf he wants and still be a 12-month personnel guy. But he doesn't have to be.

There is no doubt Jordan could put together a first-rate basketball staff from his circle of close friends and acquaintances. Jordan's basketball universe reaches from the North Carolina Cabal (Larry Brown and George Karl in the pros; Roy Williams, Buzz Peterson and Eddie Fogler in college) to the left coast (Warriors assistant coach Rod Higgins; Phil and the Gang in LaLa); from the CBA (Darrell Walker is coaching the Rockford Lightning) to any number of current players who'll make fine coaches and/or scouts when they're done playing (B.J. Armstrong and Steve Kerr come to mind).

If Jordan doesn't clean house -- and he may not until after Leonsis buys out Pollin, whenever that is -- Unseld could make the calls and do at least some of the travel. If Jordan decides to beef up the infrastructure, there are any number of young, smart guys around the league who I think could put down what they're doing and come to Washington. First in my mind is Ed Tapscott, who the Knicks shunned in favor of Scott Layden last summer. The list also includes Chicago's Jim Stack, Portland's Mark Warkentein, Minnesota's Rob Babcock and Sacramento's Wayne Cooper.

Besides, Jordan's task may be more spiritual than grunge. He has to change the culture that has accepted losing in Washington. He'll clean out some of the dead weight in the organization, but more importantly, he'll be a daily symbol of hope and winning. For all the malarkey John Calipari dished out in Jersey, he did make them start to think like winners. Ditto Isiah Thomas in Toronto and Pat Riley in Miami. Jordan is more than up to that task.

3) Ah, Mr. Falk. Is his unctuous presence at Jordan's side a raging conflict of interest for the Wizards? Of course it is. But it's no more a conflict than the one Falk has with Lewis Katz in New Jersey. Under Falk's spell, Katz gave his OK to the Stephon Marbury deal last year and paid through the nose for Falk clients Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn. The last person to try and pack the court this shamelessly was FDR.

And let's be honest here: The league is rife with borderline too-cozy relationships. I don't think I'm breaking any confidences here by saying that Arn Tellem and Jerry West are very close friends. You think it's a coincidence that Kobe Bryant wound up in L.A. instead of Charlotte or New Jersey? Bill Duffy, the agent for Terrell Brandon, was the college roommate of Kevin McHale, who just happens to be Brandon's boss now in Minnesota. And Brandon seamlessly re-signed with the Wolves this summer. Was it a conflict when Atlanta-based agent Lonnie Cooper played coaching roulette this past summer with his stable of clients -- Randy Wittman, Doc Rivers and Isiah Thomas?

ALDRIDGE'S RANKINGS

THE TOP 10
1. L.A. Lakers
2. Utah
3. Portland
4. San Antonio
5. Indiana
6. Miami
7. Sacramento
8. Seattle
9. Minnesota
10. Detroit
THE BOTTOM FIVE
25. Dallas
26. L.A. Clippers
28. Chicago
27. Washington
29. Golden State

If Falk can bully teams into sending players to Washington, well, it's nothing he hasn't done in other cities for years.

And I thought it was telling that Jordan made clear the chain of command at his news conference. "Let's straighten the arrow a bit," Jordan said. "David works for me, instead of the other way around."

And thank God.

Keep in mind that for all of Falk's bluster, he never surrounded Jordan with Falk clients when MJ was playing. Part of the reason, at least toward the end of Jordan's career, was that Jordan sucked all the air out of Chicago's cap. Still, it's naive to think that Falk doesn't now have a central role in the future fortunes of the Wizards.

So, will it work? Depends on your definition of what "work" is, and thank you, Mr. President, for giving us all that loophole. The Wizards will certainly become more talented and more driven on Jordan's watch. With Falk scheming behind the curtain, they'll get their share of good players. With Jordan cajoling them, threatening them, inspiring them, the players on the roster will be more accountable. (It was almost touching to see rookie guard Richard Hamilton gushing about MJ at practice the other day. "When he said 'Richard, move right here,' I kinda looked and I was like, 'that's Michael Jordan right there,'" Hamilton recalled.)

Will they become champions? The odds are longer. Jordan's not going to play. But this much we know about Michael Jeffrey Jordan. There is no will stronger, no work ethic longer. No matter what happens at the Phone Booth, it takes guts to even try it. The man's got 'em, and other body parts, too.


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