What Would Michael Jordan Do?
With all of the post "Decision" discussion surrounding Lebron James joining the Heat it would appear that everyone has an opinion of how it should have been handled. Michael Jordan even came out to say that he never would've called Bird or Magic to join forces with them. Although I respect everything that Jordan accomplished as a player, I am not interested in his thoughts of what he would've done because we never will know.
It is easy to say what you would've done different or kept the same when your story is already written. It's also easy to side with someone's opinion when they already have 6 championship rings on their finger. There is more than just pride and winning instinct that goes into why Jordan never had to worry about making such a phone call.
Michael never had to think about leaving the Bulls primarily because Chicago surrounded him with talent. Say what you want but Jordan and Pippen were a tandem. The year after Jordan's first retirement the Bulls only won 2 fewer games and got knocked out in the playoffs by the Knicks in a series that included a controversial foul call in game 5.
In the second 3-peat he had Dennis Rodman (Outstanding Rebounder), Toni Kukoc (Best International Player at the time), and quality bench and role players that included Steve Kerr and Ron Harper. Kobe couldn't win without Shaq until he embraced his supporting cast. Look at how outspoken he was to retain Derek Fisher, his Scottie Pippen.
He never would've been able to make the call to Magic and Bird because none of those teams would've EVER let their stars even REACH free agency. In 1984 Magic Johnson signed a 25 year contract for $25 million. That contract would've taken him into last season. The other reason he never called Magic and Bird is because they were both retired after he won his 2nd ring. And let us not forget what Jordan did when the great cast around him was about to break up in 97, he took his ball and retired.
If Jordan was put in a position where he felt he couldn't win then I am sure he would've moved to a team that he felt put him in the best position to win. Its easy for him to make his comments because his story is already written.
He's looking at it the same way most people look at things they have been removed from. How many times do we look at a job, school, team, or organization we used to be a part of and say something like "This place isn't like it used to be." or "They don't have fun like we used to have fun" or "If I was there I would've done it like this". That's because we've already been there and done that. The people that came before us said the same things about us.
People used to want to find a good company they can work 20-30 years with and retire, get their pension and move on. Those days are gone. Now some people have the mindset that the only way to move up quickly is to move on to another company. As society changes, so does sports.
I do feel that Lebron lacks the "killer instincts" of a champion that Kobe and Jordan exemplify and is given too much praise for a resume that is still a rough draft. One thing is for sure though, he has mortgaged his legacy on his decision to treat his career like he's playing fantasy basketball. At the end of this experiment we shall see who is left feeling the "Heat".
