NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 66 Hero (1)

After winning the championship in 1998, Leinsdorf sat next to Phil Jackson at a celebration in the Bulls management office and said, "If you change your mind, we want you back—no conditions, whether Scottie or Michael comes back. not coming back."

"It's very generous," Jackson replied.

"It has nothing to do with generosity," Leinsdorf said. "You deserve it."

Jackson took a deep breath and said, "No, I have to retire."

Jackson emptied his office at the Beto Center, got on his motorcycle, and left Chicago and the Bulls.Since then, he and this team have only a past and no future.

After discussing with Klaus, Leinsdorf was willing to give Jackson another year's contract, but Jackson was not interested.Jackson told Rick Trend of the Chicago Sun-Times that if front office asked him to stay after Jordan retired, he might consider it. "But they never proposed it," Jackson said.

To replace Jackson, Klaus has many candidates.The Bulls' next coach must be a coach without an agent.Krause is fully confident that he can keep the Bulls successful.If there was anyone on this dynastic team that possessed unbelievable magic in the past, then, Krause believes, that person must be himself, not Phil Jackson, or even Michael Jordan.

Less than an hour after Jordan hit that great final shot in Salt Lake City, Krause told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Phil Rosenthal: "Jerry (Reinsdorf) and I did it six times." From beginning to end, Krause believed that the Bulls' ability to win so many championships was mainly due to the credit of the management.

Leinsdorf told Jordan: You can use the whole summer to decide the future.He also said that below the salary cap, money is definitely not an issue.But Leinsdorf can also feel that only when Pippen returns can Jordan continue to play for the Bulls.

After the end of the 1998 season, the NBA league was suspended due to the breakdown of negotiations between labor and management.During this period, the flow of players cannot be operated, and contract negotiations cannot be carried out, so Jordan's fate has always been up in the air.It was not until January 1999, 1 that labor and management reached an agreement that the lockout ended.A week later, on January 6, Jordan held a press conference at the United Center in Chicago, announcing his retirement from the NBA for the second time.That was the final decision he made for his future, and he brought his time with the Bulls to an end.

As of this point, Jordan has left a long list of brilliant numbers and records in the NBA:

6 championships;
6 Finals MVP;

5th annual MVP;

3-time All-Star Game MVP;

Selected to the first team of the best lineup of the year 10 times;
Selected to the All-Defensive First Team of the Year 9 times;
1 Defensive Player of the Year;
12th All-Star;

10th scoring champion;

3 steals king;

Played 930 games in the regular season and 179 games in the playoffs;
A total of 29 points were scored in the regular season, and a total of 277 points were scored in the playoffs;
Averaged 31.5 points per game in the regular season, ranking first in NBA history, shooting 50.5% from the field;

Averaged 33.4 points per game in the playoffs, ranking first in NBA history, shooting 48.7% from the field;

……

After Jordan announced his retirement, Pippen joined the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade manner, and got a five-year $6720 million contract as he wished.But in Houston, Pippen was not happy at all. In the shrinking season of 1999, Pippen averaged more than 40 minutes per game, but scored fewer points than the previous year with the Bulls, dropping from 19.1 points per game to 14.5 points per game.The Rockets have a long-formed half-court offensive system, dominated by Olajuwon and Barkley inside, which makes Pippen very uncomfortable.Pippen complained to the media in March: "Playing for so long, I didn't integrate into the offense at all, which made the game no fun. My next step is to figure out why this team wants me." The end of the season Afterwards, the situation deteriorated further. Pippen and Barkley accused and slandered each other through the media, to the point where they could no longer be teammates. The Rockets then sent Pippen to Portland.Pippen played four seasons with the Trail Blazers.

When Pippen joined the Rockets in 1999, Rodman had been waived by the Bulls.In that shortened season, Rodman played for Los Angeles, but he only participated in 23 regular season games. The Lakers could no longer bear his nonsense and gave him up.So far, Rodman's NBA career has basically come to an end.

Harper and Kukoc stayed in Chicago, serving briefly as player leaders before also departing.After the collapse of the great dynasty, Krause did not revive the Bulls as quickly as he himself believed.On the contrary, from 1999 to 2004, the Bulls did not make the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. In 2003, Krause himself retired from the position of general manager of the Bulls on health grounds.

Jackson took a one-year break after bidding farewell to Chicago, and returned in June 1999 to take charge of the Lakers.There, Jackson worked successfully with O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. From 6 to 2000, he directed the Lakers to win five championships, one for three consecutive championships and one for two consecutive championships.

For a full year after retiring, Jordan stayed away from the public eye. On January 2000, 1, he announced his return to the NBA, but not as a player, but as a manager.Jordan became the small boss and president of basketball affairs of the Washington Wizards, fully in charge of the Wizards' basketball affairs, and has the final decision on personnel.

Jordan joining the Wizards management is an intriguing thing.More than a year ago, during the NBA lockout, Jordan, who had not yet announced his retirement, appeared at the negotiation scene in New York, expressing his attitude of advancing and retreating with the players.During the meeting, Wizards owner Abe Pollin (Abe Pollin) complained that the salary of the players was getting higher and higher, and their loss as the boss was getting bigger and bigger. Jordan interrupted him and snapped: "Then put your The team is sold!" Pauline didn't show weakness, and replied coldly: "Whether it's you, Michael, or anyone else, don't tell me when to sell my team."

Therefore, this business combination has hidden secrets and risks from the very beginning.Pauline wanted to cooperate with Jordan in order to use Jordan's appeal to arouse Washington fans' interest in the Wizards; Jordan was willing to cooperate with Pauline because of his confidence in himself. He believed that he deserved to be on an NBA team. The management class gets a seat.

Early on, Jordan set himself free.He asked not to work full-time in Washington, so that he would have plenty of time for endorsements, TV commercials, golf and casinos.He spends most of his time in Chicago, so he's only going to watch some Wizards games, not all.In making these demands, Jordan doesn't look like a wage earner at all, but is, as always, a superstar.He knew that the boss needed his magic.

However, in the high-level position, Jordan does not have the magic on the court.After he joined the Wizards management, the Wizards did sell hundreds of sets of season tickets immediately, but this grand occasion did not last long.Later facts confirmed a truth that the Bulls management had long wanted to understand: people would not buy tickets to crowd into the stadium, just to see a team manager sitting in a luxurious box.

Jordan started to clear out high-paid players such as Juwan Howard (Juwan Howard) and Rod Strickland, but his vision for picking people was not very good. In the 2001 draft, he selected high school student Kwame Brown (Kwame Brown) in the first round of the first round. As a result, Kwame Brown was too far away from people's expectations for the No. [-] pick. One of the most failed No. [-] picks.Based on this alone, Jordan's decision-making is difficult to be affirmed.

Needless to say, in the sport of basketball, Jordan's best role has always been that of a player.At the press conference announcing his retirement in 1999, Jordan told everyone: 99.9% of him would not change his mind and would not return to play in the NBA.But in just two years, he is about to turn that 0.1% possibility into a 100% reality.

One afternoon in December 2000, Jordan, who was already 12 pounds (about 30 kilograms) overweight, was a little restless.He once thought he would never need to play again.For an athletic icon like him, retirement meant endless vacations to play golf, gamble, smoke cigars, and never wake up at 9.1 a.m. for practice without being annoying. No more teammates and annoying coaches, no more dealing with the media, no more suffering from injuries, it looks great.Until one day, he got tired of such leisure and began to miss the old days.Sitting in the office, he felt empty.

"I didn't want to leave, I never wanted to leave," Jordan said, "(in 1999) if Phil didn't go, I wouldn't go."

That afternoon, he was being interviewed by Washington Post reporter Michael Leahy.Mentioning Phil, Jordan suddenly asked, "Is there a game for Phil tonight?" Leahy said, "I don't know." Jordan pursed his lips and thought for a while: "He might have." I know you have a game." Jordan corrected: "No, I didn't." That night, the Wizards were going to play against the 76ers at home, but Jordan was right: he, there was no game.

Leahy asked: Is it better to be the president and the owner, or to play on the court?

Jordan smiled and looked out the window. "It's nothing compared to that," he said. "Playing, being a player, throwing the ball in ... that's amazing, that's totally different. Nothing compares to that."

In the spring and summer of 2001, Jordan spent a lot of time training. During the offseason, he invited some NBA players to Chicago to participate in his private training camp.All signs point to him coming back.

Many people objected to Jordan's comeback, and their reasons were the same: your playing career was already perfect, and the last shot in 1998 was a godsend, so why bother to destroy this perfection?But they are not Jordan, they only need to open their mouths to express their opinions, and they don't have to endure the entanglement in their hearts.Jordan decided to give himself a chance to indulge his love of the game.

On September 2001, 9, Jordan officially announced his comeback to play for the Washington Wizards.According to NBA regulations, players cannot hold high-level positions in the team, let alone own shares in the team, so Jordan gave up all of this in advance, which paved the way for the end of the Wizards.In fact, on September 25, Jordan had already confirmed his comeback, but the next day, the "9" terrorist attack occurred in the United States. If Jordan announced his decision at this time, it would seem inappropriate, so he had to wait for a while. The "10" incident took place and the United States was hit hard, and it also gave Jordan's comeback extra spiritual significance-"In our lifetime, no athlete can symbolize the rule of the United States more than Jordan." "Chicago Sun-Times" So writes columnist Jay Mariotti.Jordan played for the Wizards for two years, and he donated all of his first-year salary of $9 million to the victims of the "11" incident.

In October, Jordan threw himself into the Wizards' preseason training camp."Michael is happy again, he's where he wants to be," said trainer Grover.

At this time, Jordan was 38 years old, and the years have left a deep imprint on him. On October 10, in the first regular season game of his comeback, Jordan played very tiredly at Madison Square Garden in New York. He only made 30 of 21 shots and scored 7 points, including 19 of 6 shots in the fourth quarter.In the last half minute, he had a chance to add a "return of the king" drama to the script. He made a three-pointer 2 seconds before the end. If he hit it, he could tie the score, but the arc of the ball was very flat and short. The Wizards In the end, they lost to the Knicks by two points. "I'm a little older," Jordan himself said. "The game is different, my teammates are different, the results are not what I want, but I feel pretty good about myself."

In the fifth game of the season, the Wizards went to Boston, and Jordan had a "personal enmity" that needed to be resolved.That summer, after the news of his comeback spread in the circle, a training camp was held in Los Angeles. Many NBA teams sent people to investigate young talents in California, and Jordan also went.The Celtics new star star Paul Pierce (Paul Pierce) is a native of California and was also present at the time. Pierce, 24, and Jordan, 38, chatted for a while and got into a bickering conversation. "You'd better not come back," Pierce said. "This is our league now, and we don't want to embarrass you." Jordan just nodded at first, with a "OK, you wait" smile on his face.Pierce was still chanting, and Jordan finally couldn't help asking: "When was the first time we played against you? I will remember to score 40 points on you."

Celtics coach Jim O'Brien overheard the conversation between Pierce and Jordan, pulled Pierce aside and begged his young man: "Don't talk to him! Do you hear me? ? You don't talk trash to this guy!"

In this battle against the Celtics, Jordan "only" scored 32 points, and the Wizards also lost, but Pierce scored only 14 points.The direct confrontation between the two didn't take long, and there were wins and losses for each other. Jordan made some shots in front of Pierce, and Pierce also blocked Jordan's key shot.Results, though, are not the point of this story.Here's the point: At age 38, three years after he retired from the NBA, Jordan is still viewed by a working coach as a "terrorist" who cannot be provoked.

Yes, he's a little older, but he's still Michael Jordan.

Jordan's return to play for the Wizards was generally unsuccessful for two years.

In the 2001-2002 season, Jordan averaged 22.9 points per game, ranking first in the team, but the soreness of his knees plagued him for a long time, so he missed 22 games.This year, the Wizards scored 37 wins and 45 losses, ranking tenth in the Eastern Conference.

In the 2002-2003 season, Jordan played 82 games and averaged 20.0 points per game.The Wizards once again scored 37 wins and 45 losses, ranking ninth in the East, winning 8 games less than the No.5 Magic, and still missed the playoffs.

For two consecutive years, he failed to qualify for the playoffs once, and Jordan was very helpless.In the Bulls before, he went through thirteen winters and summers and never missed the playoffs.In the past two years, Jordan has often been dissatisfied with the performance of his teammates around him, and sometimes publicly criticized his teammates in front of the media with his authority, saying that they lacked concentration and intensity.The one he reprimanded the most and suffered the most was his former champion Kwame Brown.

Around the age of 40, Jordan was no longer able to improve the team's performance on his own.Time works equally on everyone, including him.Jordan, who wears the Wizards' blue and white No. 23 jersey, can only occasionally use wonderful individual performances to ensure the value of his comeback.The two years of fighting have left nothing behind.

(End of this chapter)