An interesting article on SI.com by Ian Thomsen asks the question: Is Bob Johnson looking at selling the Bobcats to Michael Jordan? Thomsen points out that J&J had dinner together in a Washington, D.C. restaurant 3 weeks ago. Now that Ed Tapscott has left the President position with the Bobcats, is Johnson looking to sell?
The article goes on to point to the fact that the Bobcats may have lost money last season, and Johnson’s TV network C-SET was shut down after 1 year of failure.
My take: Johnson’s not looking to sell. The NBA’s first minority owner isn’t cashing out after 2 seasons. This team is his new plaything, like the equestrian meet he hosts in Charlotte each year. He and Jordan have been seen together many times before. Jordan has been interested in working with a NBA team, and he was rumored to be very interested in buying the Hornets from George Shinn back in the ’90s when Shinn was looking to sell.
I hope Johnson isn’t looking to Jordan at President either, though. He wasn’t successful as President of the Washington Wizards (where he was eventually fired), and I’m not sure that the city of Charlotte would be happy with Jordan as President. The President position doesn’t need to be a big-name person…they need to be good at what they do. Look at Isiah Thomas in New York…that team is being run into the ground, and most people point to Thomas for digging the hole.
Buy into the team, Michael, don’t take it over.