Turning out the lights in Washington
May 2003
by David Brown

The curtain has come down on the Michael Jordan era in Washington. And with that, we bid farewell to the Washington Wizards. Goodbye. It's over. You blew it.

Now you are relegated back to the role of another middling lottery team, swimming against the tide with no success. Looking for greatness, even mediocrity, and coming up empty time after time.

It was a nice run while it lasted. You made headlines, sold tickets, hawked merchandise and apparel, were featured on national telecasts. The spotlight was yours for 3 ½ years-and you didn't even make the playoffs! Imagine what could have been.

But look at the bright side. You can start fresh again. All you need to do is find a new General Manager and basketball operations staff to replace Jordan, his cronies, as well as the departing Wes Unseld; hire a coach (no doubt Doug Collins won't be retained); put together a draft (Unseld will be around to do that, presumably by himself); figure out what to do with the current roster (blowing it up seems likely since they apparently weren't happy with Jordan's work); make some offseason moves (at least they have cap room); develop your talent (hope that Jordan's leadership leaves a lasting impression); find a way to sell some tickets (good luck); and make sure you have plenty of dough to pay out the contracts of Jordan and Collins (to the tune of as much as $10 million each). The rest of us will be watching teams who actually look like they are trying to compete.

At least your players will be happy. This is the bunch of do-nothings who stood around watching a 40 year-old man with bad knees lead his team in points and hustle. The same ones that complained that Jordan and Collins were too abrasive. The same ones that backed down from every challenge the greatest athlete of the 20th century issued to them, man to man, on the practice floor, in the locker room, and during the games.

They'll be happy to get on with their lives without the overbearing shadow of Jordan. Unfortunately, they aren't yet familiar with the concept of "toiling in anonymity" which is exactly what they'll be doing. You think losing and getting yelled at by Jordan in front of 20,000 people was no fun? Try losing in front of 9,000 people who have no reason to hope you'll ever be successful.

Hope is the biggest commodity that Jordan brought to Washington. Fans suddenly began to think that things might turn around for this beleaguered franchise. When you bring in the most exciting, most talented, most accomplished player in the history of his sport into your front office and into your locker room, people sit up and take notice. No athlete in the world cuts a profile or commands attention and respect like Michael Jordan, with the possible exception of Ali. How can his presence be anything but good for the Wizards, even if his skills as a front-office executive are underdeveloped?

If owner Abe Pollin indeed decided to pull the plug on the MJ experiment, as early reports state, then Pollin is taking a huge gamble. The excitement Pollin generated by bringing in Jordan to steer his team was enormous, particularly in a city where his team has to fight the omnipresent Redskins tooth and nail for media attention. Giving up on Jordan after only 1 ½ years on the job (and two years of playing for which Pollin OWES Jordan at least another year in the front office) is foolish. It's tantamount to the team with the number one draft pick passing on LeBron James. You'd better be sure you're doing the right thing because you're giving up massive amounts of publicity and exposure and excitement. And in the media-driven world of 21st century professional sports, hype is a tangible force that translates to branding which translates to product. And nobody sells product like Michael Jordan.

Of course, the ultimate goal for any professional sports organization should be winning. And no – under Jordan, the Wizards have not been a winning team. But it takes much more than a few years to turn around a sinking ship like the former Bullets. We'll see if the next guy can get the job done. One thing is for certain: the rest of us will be too busy watching whatever team drafts LeBron James to care.

(David Brown is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)