I have spent worse afternoons than walking the back nine at Kemper Lakes with Michael Jordan on an 80-degree day.
With a cell phone attached to his right ear, a cigar lodged in his mouth and a 5-iron extending from his steady grip, Jordan was simultaneously having fun, kibitzing with the gallery and conducting NBA business Wednesday.
Playing in the pro-am portion of the SBC Senior Open with PGA veteran Raymond Floyd, First Midwest Bank CEO Bob O’Meara and SBC senior executive Karen Jennings, Jordan was working the phones to complete the hiring of a new coach.
Leonard Hamilton, coach of the University of Miami, has agreed to coach Jordan’s Washington Wizards for a reported $8 million over four years. But sources say the university is seeking some type of compensation for losing Hamilton less than a year after signing him to a lucrative, long-term contract extension.
“We’ve had some great conversations and [Hamilton] has a situation now that he has to contend with,” Jordan said. “I would be foolish to say that we have not had any conversations and that we haven’t been working in the right direction, because we have. We want to continue working in that direction and, hopefully, everything ends up where we want to go.
“I don’t know the time frame. He has to deal with his situation at the university. He is certainly the leading candidate as of right now. We have other options. It could fall through but we’re working with him to try to get something worked out.”
Jordan is well aware of detractors who question his ability to make a successful transition from NBA superstar to savvy front-office executive.
“You know what, [searching for a new coach] has been a good experience,” he said. “It’s a part of the business. I’m learning that part of the business. I never said I came in knowing everything about the game. I’ve been around the game [long enough] to understand the challenges and some of the business surrounding it. But I’m still a student of it. I will continue to learn. My attitude is to do that.”
Jordan said he was rooting for former teammate Scottie Pippen and the Portland Trail Blazers to knock off former Bulls coach Phil Jackson and his Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
“Phil messed with Scottie’s head,” Jordan said. “Of all people Scottie should have realized what Phil was doing. Scottie shouldn’t have taken Phil’s comments so seriously. He should have said something funny to put the pressure back on Phil. I’m thinking, `I thought I taught you better, Scottie.”‘
Jordan says the Pacers-Lakers matchup in the NBA finals will be intriguing.
“The Lakers snuck by [Portland],” he said. “In all honesty I don’t think they won it, I think Portland lost it. That tells you that you can never underestimate the situation. You always have to have the killer instinct.
“For as much as people may say that the Lakers are probably the favorite. . . . Reggie Miller may not get this opportunity again. You don’t know what they can do in Indiana. Larry Bird is a heck of a coach. He has been in this situation before. So has Phil. You have two experienced coaches who are going to try to implement their beliefs and experience on their players. Whoever does that successfully is going to win.”
In hopes that his Wizards soon will be transformed into winners, Jordan attended the NBA predraft camp at Moody Bible Institute after his 5-over-par performance on the golf course.
“There are some good, talented players there,” he said. “Hopefully we can find a crack in this whole process and steal us someone who could be helpful to our team.”
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Send e-mail to Fred Mitchell at kick3485@aol.com
