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MrPopup

Michael Jordan overstayed his welcome
By MARK PURDY
San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Michael Jordan should have quit when he quit.

You will never get him to admit that, naturally. Jordan would like everyone to believe that his third stretch of employment in the NBA was a worthwhile endeavor and an inspiration to every young player on the planet.

He is so smart and so smooth, some people might actually buy that spin.

Sorry. The spin move doesn't fool everyone. Jordan has two games left with the Washington Wizards - Monday at home, Wednesday in Philadelphia. And then, this second NBA comeback of Air Jordan will be complete.

Unless you're looking at the television ratings, it never should have lifted off in the first place.

When the announcement of Jordan's second "unretirement" was made in September 2001, the opinion here was that if he really wished to make a comeback, it should have been with the Harlem Globetrotters. Nineteen months later, the opinion hasn't changed.

With the Globetrotters, Jordan could have spent the past two seasons enjoying the love from crowds, winning every night, having fun and selling a lot of tickets.

With the Globetrotters, Jordan also would have suited up for as many NBA playoff games as he has with the Wizards. Which is to say, none.

Jordan had every right, of course, to re-enlist with Washington and go up against the best basketball players in the world as he posted up on his 40th birthday two months ago. But when you check the scorecard over MJ's two final laps around the league, you have to wonder why he really did it.

As mentioned, the Wizards failed to qualify for the postseason while he was with them. So that didn't work out very well.

By his own account, Jordan was also going to set an example and thereby convince the young players on his team to emulate his hard work and mental toughness. That didn't work out very well, either.

Over the past few months, Jordan has complained that too many Wizards don't care enough about learning to win. Last week, Jordan was quoted by the Associated Press thusly regarding his youthful teammates' frustrating behavior: "How many times have your parents told you not to do things, and the next thing you know, you go do it?"

If such remarks were supposed to constitute a last, desperate emotional plea to the Wizards, the plea was a flop. Washington has lost six of its past nine games.

And while Jordan's personal life is indeed personal, his decision to put himself back in the public eye for two seasons made things all the more ugly when he left his wife, reconciled, then endured an embarrassing court case involving a former mistress. So that wasn't too swell, either.

What did work about Jordan's comeback, you ask? Well, he sure sold a lot of T-shirts. And tickets. And sneakers. And somebody must have forked over a lot of dough to design and sew that form-fitting Wizards dress Mariah Carey wore at the All-Star Game. He was saluted there, as he was on virtually every stop around the NBA.

Was that commendable? As a consequence of his comeback, Jordan actually perpetuated what's wrong with the NBA these days. He made every Wizards game all about him instead of the team.

At the start of this season, Jordan told everyone - including Coach Doug Collins, who continued to fulfill his job requirement by nodding "yes" to Jordan - that his days as a starter were done. Instead, Jordan would come off the bench so the younger players could develop faster.

This benevolent gesture lasted all of 15 games. Jordan then put himself back into the starting lineup.

Predictably for an aging veteran, Jordan had exciting nights and dismal nights. On those dismal nights, it was torturous to watch him go up and dunk, barely getting his wrist over the rim.

In December, Jordan followed a 5-for-20 shooting night from the field at New Jersey with a 1-for-9 night in Toronto. In those two games, combined, he shot two free throws. In the days when he slashed to the basket and was hacked relentlessly, he would shoot two free throws every three minutes.

Jordan, to his credit, has played in every game this season. But only nine times did he score 30 or more points. The low ebb arrived in Chicago, in January, where on the floor that he once owned, Jordan finished with 10 points.

A few weeks later in the All-Star Game, Jordan looked to have his final moment of glory - but his corner jump shot in the final seconds for the East was erased as the winner and the West won in overtime.

Still, not many people had the guts to dis the man. But several did. And none of them were hack sportswriters. They were the other NBA players and coaches.

Even in the final minutes of games, they were not double-teaming Jordan. And it wasn't any two-bit media critic who nicknamed him "Floor Jordan."

It was John Thompson, the former Boston Celtics player and Georgetown coach.

Jordan remains the greatest basketball player ever, in terms of the history books. And on balance, these last few months have not been as horrible to witness as Willie Mays' stumbling major league exit or Johnny Unitas' clunky final seasons.

Does Jordan believe that this comeback was an unqualified success? Or even close to it? We'll never know what he really thinks, because long before Tiger Woods, Jordan mastered the art of the smooth and congenial interview that reveals nothing.

Perhaps, then, we should let his performance speak for itself. Saturday night, the Wizards lost by one point to Atlanta. Jordan slogged his way to 17 points, after missing his first four shots. Just before the buzzer, he missed a 20-footer that could have won the game.

If Saturday night could have spoken for Jordan, would it say: "Hey, I made a fantastic comeback, didn't I?"

Don't answer the question. It's too painful.

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