http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0507/1550445.html Jordan out as president of Wizards WASHINGTON -- Michael Jordan won't return as president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. Team owner Abe Pollin made the decision after meeting with Jordan on Wednesday. The move ends Jordan's 31/2 years with the Wizards, the last two as a player. "I firmly believe that Michael's time with us as a player will have a lasting impact on every player on our roster, and there is no question that our fans were treated to a very unique two seasons as the greatest player in the world completed his career here in Washington,'' Pollin said in a statement. No statement was issued by Jordan, who earlier this week had said he planned to resume his front-office job with the Wizards now that his playing days are over. However, a source told The Associated Press earlier this week that Jordan had talked to Robert Johnson, new owner of the Charlotte NBA franchise, about a possible role with that team.
No kidding! I really think he has a lot of potential and I saw a lot of good things from him this year when he got a chance to play. Now the team can focus on just "growing" versus pressing to make the playoffs. The young players on that team can grow at a more reasonable rate which will help in their development.
it was?? yeah, they showed up on TV a bit more...but it's not like this is college sports where you're trying to recruit players every year and using that as an advantage. the team is no better off than it was before he got there.
I totally agree. Let me ask this....did the players on that team improve while Jordan was there? Did their game improve? Did they learn anything? Seems to me like they hated Jordan and are GLAD he is gone! What does that say? All Jordan did for the Wizards was dump a few few large contracts, give the franchise sell outs for two seasons and more TV games and give them a chance at the playoffs for those two season. But at the same token the franchise is no better off NOW then they were before Jordan got there. So Jordan was basically a BAND-AID for that team for two years. They still are a young team with A LOT to learn and it appears the players did not take advantage of learning from Jordan while he was there. And I am not sure if that is the players fault or Jordan's teaching methods.
This reminds me of my kids, taking all the toys out, playing, and then running away, leaving a big mess for somebody else to cleanup.
The media is so much on Jordan's jock it isn't even funny. I thought Michael Wilbon was going to break down and cry because Jordan was basically fired from Washington. The Wizards have a good young team, as long as you let them be a running team they would have made the playoffs. Instead, Jordan let his ego get in the way and wanted everything built around him. A team built around a 40 year old man who is injured and coming off a 3 year layoff equals self-destruction. Then Colllins and Jordan did everything they could to destroy Kwame Brown, who could easily be another Jermaine O'Neal. The best thing that could happen is for Jordan to leave and allow this team to grow without Jordan constantly sniping at them. And it's pathetic that the media would blame an entire TEAM instead of Jordan just because Jordan won championships with the Bulls. That's not the same team.
Yep, it was a short term commercial success, as a basketball experiment though, they are as mediocre as they were before he signed up and they never made the playoffs while he was there. All in all I would say it was about as successful as his stint with the Birmingham Barons.
Could not have said it better myself. In reality, it probably is not possible, but if anything could damage Jordan's legacy, this would be it. PS - Nice to see you back posting RM. Haven't seen you around in a while.
Yep, this definitely hurt Jordan's legacy, especially the way he handled the young players and beat them down. And it's great to be back, I've been busy but I ain't going anywhere!
Unbelievable! I can't believe they actually did it. Probably the first halfway decent move the Wizards have made in a decade. Jordan clearly just didn't have what it took to run the front office. Still, what a laughing stock the Wizards are. The team is totally in shambles. Worst record in the NBA next season.
So your saying they didn't get better? They won more games right. I'm not quite sure I follow. The Wizards were actually in contention. Before Michael got hear everybody said it would be his greatest achievement if they got to the playoffs. And they nearly did. So on the basketball court they did get better. I fail to see the reasoning. The young players are so young you can't possibly have expected them to jump their avarages when you have stack and jordan on the team. Of course they are not gonna score. You strip Hamilton out of the picture and you have a whole new team. The assessment is way off. The Wizards improvement will be measured in a couple of years. Maybe even next. Off the court, you can't measure what's he 's done for the community. He changed people's lives by just showing up. And if you ask me. I'm blown away by his ability to show up.
Uhmmm... Jermaine O Neal 4.5 ppg, 3.4 rebounds (2nd year) Kwame Brown 7.4 ppg, 5.3 rebounds. (2nd year) What am I missing.
Jordan isnt ditching them, Abe let him go. Michael was fully prepared to step back into his old posistion. I`m not saying Michael is upper management material but he did dump some very ugly contracts and tried to help the younger guys learn the game of basketball. Good Luck next year Wizards
What you'all are basically saying is that not one of the young players learned anything from playing with Michael Jordan. So you're not really being critical of Jordan. You're really saying that Kwame Brown and the other players aren't smart enough to feed off of Jordan. Which I don't think is true at all. At 18 you don't realize how important your father was in your development. At 31 you do.
What there saying is Jordan is a selfish SOB, and these guys were never going to flourish under him. They did win more games, but how many will they win next year.
It's a no-win situation for Jordan. Even if the young players are at fault, MJ is the one who picked them. But I highly doubt Jordan jacking up shots and yapping endlessly helped them learn anything. His stint in DC was a joke.
