MJ should be talking comeback, not retirementBy Peter May
Special to ESPN.com
know what the schedule says. I know what Michael has said. You put the two together and -- voila -- you have Instant Story. Tonight is Michael Jordan's final game in Chicago, the city to which he brought six titles and then soon abandoned. Or, depending on your point of view, was unceremoniously and foolishly pushed out the door.
Don't be so sure.
I have it on tape that Michael has every intention to hang them up after this season. He said it, right to me, unequivocally and without hesitation. He wants to finish out the season and then go on to the next stage of his life, which, of course, would be the previous stage of his life.
Why do I have trouble believing him? I have no inside source or mole telling me that Jordan has his fingers tied behind his back when he's speaking. I just go by what I see and what I see in Jordan is the same thing I saw in Karl Malone last fall when the Mailman floated his "retirement" trial balloon and it turned into the Hindenburg.
He's still too good to leave. It's that simple.
Have you happened to notice what he has done in the month of January? He's averaging over 20 points a game. He's averaging over seven rebounds and five assists a game. He's going to be 40 next month! There is no earthly reason why he shouldn't play next season unless he categorically does not want to or somehow comes down with a crushing injury over the second half of the season.
He's been Jordanian durable as well. All those nicks from last season and bouts with tendinitis? They may still be there, but he has yet to miss a game. He even gave up on a chance at the Sixth Man Award by going back into the starting lineup. In a recent game in Boston, surrounded by twentysomethings who think they know how to play, Jordan was, at worst, the second-best player on the floor. You walked away from that game wondering why the guy should retire. We haven't held it against him before when he's done a flip-flop. Why would we do it now?
"I'm focused with finishing this year off with no anticipation of playing next year," he said. That was before the Wizards' win in Boston later that night. "You really want to do a lot of things, but you really have to give the young kids a chance to do their thing. I've come to that understanding and I'm ready to walk away from it."
In this case, I hope he reconsiders. This is sort of the reverse of what's happened before with him. In 1993, when he retired for the first time, it was pretty much of a shock. There were the Oliver Stone acolytes out there who suspected some sinister undertone and that Jordan, in fact, retired involuntarily at the "suggestion" of higher-ups. He was back in less than two years, even though he swore at the time he'd never play in the United Center.
Retirement No. 2 was supposed to be the Perfect Ending. But even with that everlasting memory in his and everyone's mind, he decided to give it another shot after missing three seasons, even though he swore he'd never play in another uniform. People ripped him for being selfish, self-absorbed, needing a life and outright delusional, a sure-to-be-exploited wheezer in the X-Box generation. But he ignored that "advice" and scratched his itch -- or was it itched his scratch? -- and came back anyway. He had his team on the edge of the playoff race last season before going down with an injury. He has them in the playoff picture right now while having substantially improved the team in the offseason.
He's 12th in the NBA in steals, even though the 10 of the 11 players ahead of him have played substantially more than he has. He is 16th in field goals made, even though the 15 players ahead of him average as much as six-plus minutes a game more than he does. He is providing invaluable lessons and leadership skills on a daily basis. How can that be a bad thing?
I've heard the argument that by sticking around, and wanting to win now, he's retarding the growth of the youngsters and thereby delaying, if not destroying, any chance of rebuilding in Washington. What utter rubbish! For one thing, Kwame Brown -- the youngster who should be developing as Amare Stoudemire already has -- doesn't play the same position. Brown was given ample opportunity to play and play a lot. He simply hasn't earned the time, but it's not Jordan's fault that he hasn't. The object of the game in most places (Denver and Cleveland being the exceptions) is to win. What better lesson for all the kids on the Wizards than to see how that is done, whether the teacher is Jordan or the incorrigible Charles Oakley?
Last month, the Wizards were making their final visit of the season to Orlando and there were the usual questions about it being MJ's last game in the city. I remember Shawn Kemp talking about the visit and I remember him being highly skeptical, reminding us that Jordan had retired once or twice before.
"I'm still amazed he announced his plans so early." Kemp said. "You learn to never say never with that guy. I still thinks if he gets hot down the stretch and Washington makes a run in the playoffs, he might come back again."
In other words, he did a 180 before. Who's to say it won't happen again?
One thing is certain: David Stern will find a way to get Jordan on the Eastern Conference team during All-Star weekend. The obvious move would be to replace Vince Carter (if a strained right knee continues to bother him) with MJ -- whereupon Jordan could well end up starting the game. (He'd also be playing for old nemesis Isiah Thomas, which is a story for another day.)
Assuming there are fans at the game -- in Atlanta, you can never be sure -- it will be a moving moment when Jordan is introduced. The assumption will be that this will be the All-Star finale for one of the game's greats. There will be standing ovations, video tributes, maybe even some incendiary devices as well. (Firecrackers are cheap down there.)
But you know what they say about the word "assume." It makes an ass out of u and me. This is one time that Jordan should take a page out of the Bill Parcells playbook and say that, gee, he really did mean it when he said it. It's one thing to miss the action. It's another thing to be part of the action, a key part.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played efficiently until he was 42, with the Lakers watching his minutes and motions like a hawk. There's no reason Jordan couldn't do the same thing. Unless his game or health deteriorates dramatically, I say, bring him back. Then we could have another year of stories like the ones that we're having now.
Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
