When Michael Jordan was running up and down the floor for the Chicago Bulls during the 1980s and 90s he was seen as one of the biggest superstars on the planet. He helped lead the Bulls to six championships in eight seasons, and controlled the league in a way that hadn’t been seen since the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.
Now Jordan’s role is a much different one. As the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats Jordan finds himself on the other side of the argument. Jordan’s Bobcats have struggled since their inception back in 2004, and have only reached the post-season on one occasion.
Now it’s being revealed that Jordan was one of the owners that pushed to kill the trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers last week. While it was revealed last Thursday night that Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert may have been the leading crusader in the attempt to ax the trade, Jordan was also on the bandwagon.
According to a recent post in the Miami Herald Jordan explained his reasoning for being against the trade.
Jordan says he opposed the Chris Paul trade to the Los Angeles Lakers because “as a small market (owner) I’m very supportive of being able to keep your star player.”
Still, Jordan mentioned that he wouldn’t be opposed to signing Chris Paul if given the opportunity.
In the end Jordan comes across looking much like Gilbert and the other owners of less successful teams. Jordan has no problem with a trade if it means Chris Paul comes to Charlotte, but doesn’t like seeing Paul go to another team. Jordan, Gilbert and the other owners hide behind a guise of parity and their desire for competitive balance, when in reality they just don’t want to see strong teams get even stronger.
Dan Gilbert certainly wasn’t writing any letters to the commissioner when he traded Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Washington Wizards for Antawn Jamison only to re-sign him 30 days later after the Wizards bought him out.
This hypocritical behavior certainly isn’t surprising as much as it is annoying. At least if owners like Gilbert and Jordan came out and said they voted against the trade because it was good for their own franchises instead of pretending they’re interested in the well-being of the Hornets they might earn a little of our respect.