Jordan Decision Could Come Today
W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 24, 2001 -- The five-month wait for the inevitable isnearly over. Barring an improbable, last-minute change of heart,Michael Jordan's comeback is about to become official.
The route from "99.9 percent chance that I won't" in April to"I'm doing it for the love of the game" will end with anannouncement this week, possibly as early as Monday.
The Washington Post reported there is no longer any questionJordan is coming back. Citing a league source with knowledge of thesituation, the Post reported on its Web site Sunday night thatJordan has decided to end his three-year retirement to play for theWashington Wizards.
Jordan won't make any public statements about his return untilthe team's media day, Oct. 1, the day before the Wizards begintraining camp, the Post reported.
An Announcement by Fax?
The official "I'm back" — probably via fax from the WashingtonWizards — will be almost anticlimactic, but there are otherquestions about Jordan's second unretirement that eagerly await ananswer.
The Post reported the source said that Jordan will sign a contract for $1 million, the 10-year veteran minimum salary of $1 million. The source told the Post that it was unknown whether he would be signing a multi-year deal. In Jordan's last year in the NBA, with the Bulls in 1997-98, he earned more than $36 million.
Because the NBA does not allow dual player-ownership, Jordan must sell his 5 to 10 percent ownership stake in the Wizards. Jordan already has started the process of selling his shares in the Wizards back to Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who heads the Wizards' minority ownership group that includes Jordan. Abe Pollin has been majority owner of the Wizards since 1963.
Can Jordan keep his job as the Wizards' president of basketballoperations? The Post story, citing its source, said he must give upthat position. Even so, who would be in charge when he's on thecourt — Jordan or his hand-picked coach, Doug Collins? How wouldJordan's teammates handle sharing the court with their boss? Wouldany of them dare not pass the ball to someone who can trade or cutthem?
How much will Jordan play? He's 38 years old and last played anNBA game in June 1998. Over the last few months, he's had twocracked ribs, back spasms, knee tendinitis and hamstring problems — and that's just from pickup games against invited players who wouldbe more or less deferential to him.
Will his body hold up for an 82-game schedule, or will he followthe lead of the NHL's comeback kid, Mario Lemieux, and sit outselected games?
How will Jordan handle losing? He couldn't stand it as a frontoffice executive, having thrown tirades in front of the televisionwhile watching his woeful Wizards go 19-63 last season.Conventional wisdom says a healthy Jordan on the court just mightget the Wizards to .500. He never missed the playoffs in 13 seasonsas a player with the Chicago Bulls, while the Wizards haven't won aplayoff game in 13 years.
A Man With a (Secret) Plan
Jordan has been very cagey about his comeback plans — he evenasked for pledges of secrecy from the players he scrimmaged — butthe general outline of his return is clear.
A year ago, Jordan started working out because he found himselfwith a middle-age belly. His weight reached 242 pounds — 30 poundsabove his playing weight in Chicago. His initial basketballworkouts were a last-resort weight-loss plan after he found thetreadmill boring.
As the months passed, the workouts intensified. Jordan's focuschanged and, despite his denials, he began thinking he could indeedplay again. He hired Collins, who coached Jordan in Chicago in the1980s. Inspired in part by Lemieux, Jordan started holding intensepickup camps at a Chicago gym with NBA-caliber talent. The injuriesslowed him down, but didn't deter him.
Last spring, Jordan said: "If I had to answer today, I'm 99.9percent sure I won't play again." At another point, he said hewould have to grade himself a 9 on a scale of 1-to-10 in order toplay again, then teasingly raised himself from 6 to 7 to 8 as theweeks went by.
There's no doubt he'll pronounce himself at 9 or 10 when theWizards open training camp in Wilmington, N.C., on Oct. 2.
Ready to Roll
Preparations elsewhere have been under way for Jordan's returnfor weeks. The paperwork to sell his stake in Wizards is preparedand awaiting his signature. The Wizards staff is ready to put himon the cover of the media guide. The NBA got overeager and brieflylisted Jordan as a player on the Wizards' Web site last week.
Finally, there's a question only Jordan can answer:
Why?
Why come back and risk his legacy? Why not find another means tovent his extremely competitive nature?
"It's definitely the challenge," Jordan said in April. "I'mnot coming back for money, I'm not coming back for the glory. Ithink I left the game with that, but the challenge is what I trulylove."
On Sept. 10, Jordan was more eloquent as he all but confirmedhis comeback after a pickup game in Chicago.
"I'm doing it for the love of the game," he said. "Nothingelse. For the love of the game."