MJ In Ownership: Jordan Faces Tough Test

There are not many things in the arena of basketball that have challenged Michael Jordan. Sure golf, baseball, and acting gave his airness a little trouble, but who doesn’t have trouble with golf and 90 mph fastballs?

Even in those sports Jordan was able to dwell on joining the senior tour one day and even hit over .300 in the second half of his minor league season. On the acting front, while Jordan is no Denzel, who doesn’t like Space Jam?  

While Bugs Bunny and shoulder-to-knee curveballs may not have made MJ look stupid, managing a basketball franchise has. In his first stint in an NBA front office with the Washington Wizards, Jordan drafted high-schooler Kwame Brown with the first overall pick in the 2001 draft. For those of you who know Kwame Brown, you know how that turned out. For those of you who don’t know Kwame Brown, there’s a reason why.

Following the pick of Brown, Jordan made his biggest mistake as director of basketball operations. In 2002, Jordan traded 24-year-old Richard Hamilton to the Detroit Pistons for former UNC star Jerry Stackhouse. Since the trade, Hamilton has won a championship and been named All-NBA second team three times. Stackhouse, on the other hand, has battled injuries and has yet to make an All-Star appearance since the trade. Jordan would soon be fired by the late Wiz owner Abe Polin in May of 2003.

Three years later in 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats and became the franchise’s second-largest shareholder behind BET founder Bob Johnson. As a part of the deal, Jordan was given the title “Managing Member of Basketball Operations”. The title gave Jordan total control over basketball operations and a second chance at succeeding as an executive.

Jordan’s first big decision came in the 2006 draft in which the Bobcats held the number 3 overall pick. After the selections of Andreas Bargnani and LaMarcus Aldridge at one and two, Jordan and the Bobcats selected Adam Morrison from Gonzaga instead of players such as Rudy Gay from UConn or Brandon Roy from Washington. Since then, Morrison has been traded to the Lakers and players such as Gay, Roy, and even Rajon Rondo have been stars.

With Jordan’s executive knowledge in question and the franchise struggling, it was time for MJ to make a move to improve the situation in Charlotte. Jordan fired head coach Bernie Bickerstaff as he went just 77-169 in the franchises’ first three seasons. In May of 2007 Jordan hired Dallas Mavericks assistant Sam Vincent as head coach. Vincent’s only previous head coaching experiences were one year as an NBDL coach in 05-06 and one year as the head coach of the Nigeria men’s national team, also in 2006.

The decision was not a good one, as Vincent led the Bobcats to another losing season going just 32-50. Less than a year later, Jordan was forced to fire Vincent and owner Bob Johnson handed over the reigns to an experienced and proven coach, Larry Brown.

All Jordan has ever faced as an executive is scrutiny and failure. Michael could care less about the scrutiny, but failure is something the 6x NBA champ, 2x gold-medal winner, and 1x NCAA champ will not accept.

So now that MJ has become the majority owner of an NBA franchise, his reputation and even his well-being are at stake. After a decade of failure in a suit, Jordan will pick up the Jumpman t-shirt and cap, take a seat behind the ‘Cats bench Cuban-style, and be forced to turn around a franchise that is expected to lose close to $40 million this season. A big reason Bob Johnson sold the 75% of his 80% share of the team to Jordan after Johnson has lost close to $100 million since founding the franchise.

After spending $275 million on the franchise, even Jordan can’t afford to keep losing money. Well, maybe at the craps table, but not on the basketball floor.

While the franchise had it's best season ever making the playoffs for the first time, there is plenty of work to do for MJ.

First and foremost he has to put fans in the stands and make the franchise profitable. A task that is not as simple as collecting sellouts, considering the Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to lose close to $20 million this season and they sellout every game.

If the franchise is to make a turnaround, MJ’s ability to build a close relationship with the Charlotte business community is essential. He must do what former owner Johnson couldn’t and get the community, and the money, behind this franchise.

In order to do this, Jordan must be a visible figure in the Charlotte community among the fans and the many businesses and corporations in the city. Jordan has to show the city that he is committed to this franchise as opposed to blasting the locals for not supporting the team like Johnson.

One mistake Jordan has already made in his few short months as owner is his decision not to move away from his home in Chicago and live in Charlotte. Jordan is buying a house in Charlotte and says his presence will be felt around the city, but many seem to think that is not enough.

“The only way to understand team chemistry and how everyone in the organization gets along, and how you can put them in a position to succeed, is to be around them,” said Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. “Otherwise, all the information you get is second hand, which in this business is not something you can depend on when you’re running a $300-million-plus asset.”

Even during a speech to a group of season-ticket holders in which Jordan was attempting to convince them of his devotion Jordan said “I want to provide entertainment to the city of Chicago, I mean Charlotte”. Not very convincing Michael.

So if MJ is to fix his front office reputation and turnaround a franchise that has lost $100 million during its’ short existence and never had a winning season, he must do so in his own style and way. He must surround himself with good basketball minds and make the tough decisions that he thinks will benefit the franchise.

One thing is for sure though. Jordan may lose money but he will not be a loser. Former owner Bob Johnson was known for putting together rosters that were rather inexpensive. While that may be a good idea for Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling, who cares more about money than winning, this style won’t work for MJ. He’ll put together a winner even if it costs him.

Although Jordan is going to do everything in his power to make this franchise a winner, he cannot afford to make the same mistakes he has made in the past. Draft picks such as Morrison and Brown and hires such as Vincent will not cut it this time. Jordan has to make better decisions and, frankly, just work harder at putting his stamp on the franchise.

Not moving to Charlotte is a bad start for MJ. That’s a fact. You can even ask David Stern, who has done everything but beg MJ to move to North Carolina. So if Jordan is really serious about this, which his insanely competitive nature says he will be, what’s he going to do to fix it? Nobody knows for sure, but one thing that is for sure is that Jordan has a hell of a challenge in front of him and a bad reputation that precedes him.