By now you’ve heard about the NBA’s million dollar fine for any team front-office members who even dream about current players. A few people have already been whacked with the seven-digit penalty (which is one of many things in the NBA commonly referred to as “draconian” at the moment), and Michael Jordan will probably soon be one of them.
You see, MJ had the stones to defy David Stern and [GASP!!] say Andrew Bogut is a good player.
“I can’t say so much … but I know the owners are not going to move off what we feel is very necessary for us to get a deal in place where we can co-exist as partners. We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat.
“We have stars like Bogut who are entitled to certain type of demands. But for us to be profitable in small markets, we have to be able to win ballgames and build a better basketball team.”
Jordan said small-market teams would benefit greatly from a “hard” salary cap, and it would allow clubs such as Milwaukee to plan a future on key players including the Australian centre.
“Bogut is a good piece to build around for Milwaukee,” Jordan said.
“I love Bogut’s game. He’s made a very good start and he’s definitely gonna be a star. His big problem is that he’s been dealing with that elbow injury. But he is a star to be reckoned with (and) will be a star for some time.”
There’s no way MJ doesn’t get hit with a fine for that. He mentions the lockout, specific business that could emerge from said lockout, AND a specific player that could be affected by it! That’s a triple-double of no-no’s.
Of course, he could get out of it by betting Stern double-or-nothing on a 25-foot putt the next time they’re on a course together.
I’ll toss in the required line about how this fine is stupid and team owners should be able to express a benign opinion about basketball. There’s nothing in that statement that will be a detriment to the negotiations. I think the bigger issue is Jordan, who you may recall as a fairly decent player, towing the company line when it comes to setting hard caps. There’s no way MJ the player would go for that. Jordan the owner, though, sings a different tune.
Could it be Michael Jordan… celebrity endorser of everything in the world, still one of the most marketable athletes alive, and bazillionaire thanks to his off-the-court income… will do anything when it comes to making money?
Naaaaaah. That’s crazy talk.