The NBA always is looking for slogans. How about this one: “It’s Michael’s world. Let’s see if anyone can spoil it.”
Say, like Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter … or Jerry Stackhouse, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett … or Antoine Walker and Jalen Rose.
“All these young guys, like McGrady and Carter and Kobe, have come along and are compared to Michael Jordan,” Indiana Pacers President Donnie Walsh said. “They’re going to lose that comparison. Now Jordan is out there. It’s been a long time, if ever, that the league has had [such] young and exciting talent that is out there now.
“These guys have Michael Jordan athleticism, which wasn’t true the last few years. There were plays only Michael could make. Now you see these kids making those plays. And now they have a chance to see if they can outplay Jordan. It’s going to create a lot of interest in the NBA this season.”
The greatest gunslinger of them all, the toughest sheriff, is coming back to his favorite town. Everyone will be gunning for him, and everyone is going to be watching.
“It’s such a compelling story,” Bucks general manager Ernie Grunfeld said. “The greatest player ever finishes his career in the greatest way possible. And now he’s back and everyone is wondering what he’ll be like. Will he be as good? What will his team be like?”
The story begins, certainly by no coincidence, Oct. 30 at Madison Square Garden and on TNT cable network when Jordan’s Washington Wizards open the NBA season against the New York Knicks.
“It should produce the highest rating for Turner in its history,” an NBC executive said of TNT.
NBC doesn’t begin its NBA schedule in full until January, so it hasn’t begun rescheduling for Jordan yet.
After all, this is a 19-win Wizards team from last season being led by a 38-year-old man out of pro basketball for three years.
But some major sponsors already are targeting Wizards games for advertising, and NBC and Turner are prepared to show the maximum number of Wizards games.
NBC had none scheduled if Jordan had decided not to play.
Wizards season-ticket sales have rocketed, and sellouts are expected in every one of the Wizards’ 82 games.
This also happens to be the final year of the NBA’s TV contract, worth $1.75 billion over four years with NBC and $890 million with Turner.
Increased attention to the NBA with Jordan back can only help the NBA in those negotiations.
Negotiations are now under way with both outlets during a one-month window. ESPN is said to be preparing a major bid to wrest the cable part away from Turner.
All of which could result in a massive increase in rights fees, which goes to players’ salaries.
Nike is said to be preparing a new Jordan sneaker, and Jordan’s other major sponsors all have ad campaigns coming out. No doubt that will cushion the blow of Jordan playing for the veteran’s minimum of $1.2 million–and donating that to disaster relief for the Sept. 11 attacks–because the Wizards are over the salary cap. Jordan’s final Bulls contract was for $33.6 million.
There has been some concern that Jordan’s return could detract from some of the young talent that emerged last season, especially with the proliferation of 50-point games in the playoffs from Iverson, Carter and Bryant.
“It was a slow process, but finally last year people started to watch Vince and Kobe. They started to appreciate [Shaquille O’Neal] for his size and mobility and the way he could dominate and seeing Iverson was a tough competitor,” one team executive said. “All of a sudden Michael’s back and the focus will be on him. They might take a back seat a little and we’ll see how they react to that.”
Undoubtedly a little testily at times, as O’Neal remarked during the Finals that “39 isn’t 29” when asked about a Jordan return. Former teammate Scottie Pippen said during the playoffs, “He won’t be playing like he was 32.”
Legends usually grow as players get further from their game. Here’s a chance to see the man generally acclaimed as the best his game has ever produced returning reasonably close to his prime, and with substantial competition to face.
“He’s got a magic name and has had a magic career,” Walsh said. “Everyone realizes he’s putting himself on the line. People will want to come and see that.”
Especially in Washington. Some say Jordan is spoiling the team’s future with an egotistical journey.
They say if the team stays on course by developing its talent and getting top draft picks, it could emerge a championship contender.
But Jordan’s return should bring them to the edge of the playoffs, a murky place where teams linger without top draft picks or a chance to go much higher.
“It’s one thing if a team has had a lot of success,” Walsh said. “But with a team constantly losing, maybe the best thing is to get the interest back. If you tell people we’re going to build for five years, they’ll say, `See you in five years.’ He’s going to put people back in the stands.”
Lots of teams are playing opening night, but whom will everyone be watching?
“I know,” Pistons President Joe Dumars said, “I’m going to be watching to see how it turns out.”
