On Jordan's Return

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

          January 4, 1999

          ON PRO BASKETBALL

          Jordan's Return Could Depend on League's Image


          By SELENA ROBERTS

              Michael Jordan has been a pantomime during these
          last tense weeks of the National Basketball
          Association's six-month-old lockout, a figure in motion
          on the golf course, but silent on the issues.

          Why risk dipping an image as wholesome as baked cookies
          into the mud that has been slung during this labor
          dispute? He tried to mix it up once in a pre-Halloween
          collective-bargaining session, but looked like a bully
          when he challenged 74-year-old Abe Pollin, owner of the
          Washington Wizards, to sell his team if he couldn't
          make a profit.

          After the exchange, Jordan's agent, David Falk, boasted
          that he had all but planted the words in Jordan's head.
          Not only had Jordan lowered himself into one of the
          countless no-win verbal frays during this lockout, but
          he looked as much like an agent's puppet as anyone
          else.

          Jordan has since ducked out of the labor skirmish. He
          can't win this one. He can't shake the owners the way
          he did Utah's Bryon Russell in last year's Game 6 to
          waltz off with a finals' victory.

          As a meticulous caretaker of his image, Jordan has
          learned not to attach himself to losing situations. He
          is keenly apolitical and removes himself from
          controversial subjects, whether the topic is working
          conditions at overseas Nike plants or the calamitous
          exhibition game agents organized in Atlantic City,
          N.J., on Dec. 19.

          He steered away from the latter, and he must realize
          there are few topics outside of Washington's Beltway
          creating more negative vibes than the NBA. So why
          expose an untainted legacy by returning for a makeshift
          season that will be pockmarked with an asterisk, empty
          seats and unsavory characters?

          Unless Jordan retires, this is the NBA that he'll step
          back into if the season is saved before a board of
          governors vote Thursday. There is no league exception
          in anyone's proposal for fan resentment. Even the
          impervious Jordan -- rarely injured, seldom beaten --
          is vulnerable to fan apathy aimed at everyone who has
          made a gaudy living off the game. Jordan has earned his
          luxury lifestyle, but playground interviews with
          children have unveiled an aversion to even the greatest
          player in the game.

          To associate himself with a slumping product like the
          NBA may not make a return worth it to him, even if
          Scottie Pippen returns to the Bulls for an encore, too.
          Not only would Jordan have to play a harried season --
          taking on as many as three opponents on three
          consecutive nights -- Jordan, who will be 36 next
          month, would have to accept (or ignore) the input of
          Tim Floyd, who took over for Phil Jackson on the Bulls'
          sideline.

          For Jordan, it's like someone changing the recipe on
          his favorite dish. What was familiar and anticipated --
          as in the Zen-like atmosphere and basketball
          compatibility supplied by Jackson -- will be replaced
          by something new and unsettling.

          Maybe he can adjust. But even those outside the gossipy
          Charles Barkley -- who recently disclosed that Jordan
          told him he has "had enough" and will retire -- believe
          he has nothing to gain by chancing the last image of
          him on the court: the game-winning shot to capture the
          Bulls' sixth title last June in Utah.

          "When Michael Jordan has something to say," Jordan
          said, uncharacteristically launching into the third
          person upon hearing Barkley's remarks, "I'll say it."

          When the lockout out ends -- and days pass as the Bulls
          make their personnel decisions -- that's when he will
          talk. But there are hints that his future is already
          decided. Barkley's ramblings aside, there are whispers
          that Jordan has tapered off his rigid workout routines
          over the last few weeks.

          Granted, Jordan's walking around shape is probably
          better than most players at mid-season, and he could
          snap back to form as quick as a child's pop-up book.
          But if observers are right, Jordan certainly owes
          nothing to the owners and league leaders who have
          refused to be awestruck by his presence at negotiating
          sessions.

          It's as if they have gotten their use out of Jordan.
          The current television deal will outlive Jordan's
          career, and his $33 million salary only pumps up the
          dreams of the misguided stars who believe they are the
          next Jordan. When he made his surprise presence at a
          marathon session last month, no one blinked and no
          progress was made.

          As the meeting continued on its bleak path, Jordan
          sneaked out of the hotel through the back entrance.
          Cameras caught up to him but he refused to comment.

          This time, he had learned the value of silence. What
          was he going to say that wouldn't have sounded petty?
          Throughout the labor dispute, he has used this same
          strategy of silence to keep his future plans to
          himself. Some owners privately wish for his departure
          -- hey, let someone else win for once -- but the
          league's life after the lockout will be difficult to
          bear without his influence.

          The NBA still needs Jordan, particularly now. Who else
          has proven his heart and love of the game like Jordan
          has? These are feel-good qualities the NBA will have to
          push to recapture a skeptical public. These are
          qualities Jordan has in bulk.

          People should hope that Jordan is a glory junkie and
          cannot withdraw from the game just yet. Isn't winning a
          seventh title despite Floyd enough of a challenge?
          Isn't golf just competitive candy next to the real
          thing?

          But the reality is that Jordan may not want to be part
          of this less appealing NBA. In the coming weeks if
          there is a season -- or in the coming year if there
          isn't -- Jordan will choose his exit strategy. He can
          retire and select Game 6 of the finals as his lasting
          impression. Or he can soar on for a league that is
          curdling and bound to lose the luster that Jordan
          worked so hard to shine.

          If fan apathy meters are correct, Jordan could win a
          seventh title only to hear a collective reply of, "So
          what?"

          Sometimes, you can't win. So you have to wonder if
          Jordan, never one to associate himself with a no-win
          situation, would rather bow out gracefully or risk
          being attached to the unsightly image of the NBA.



                Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company