RealGM

Michael Jordan, 1999:

"According to players, Abe Pollin spoke about the need for players to have faith in the owners, saying, 'You just have to trust us.'' Michael Jordan blasted owners for not bargaining in good faith in the offseason and reportedly said to Pollin, 'If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team.''"


Michael Jordan, 2011:

"''The model we've been operating under is broken,' Jordan told Australia's Herald Sun. 'We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat. ... for us to be profitable in small markets, we have to be able to ... build a better basketball team.''

...

Irony is, aside from coming across as a whiny-ass-bitch, there's really no difference in the two positions. Jordan has always cared more about himself than the good of the game or the good of the league. Twelve years ago, all he wanted was to dominate everyone around him and cash in. Now, all he wants is to protect that cash.

badinage wrote:
Michael Jordan, 2011:

"''The model we've been operating under is broken,' Jordan told Australia's Herald Sun. 'We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat. ... for us to be profitable in small markets, we have to be able to ... build a better basketball team.''

A lot of people/fans would agree with Jordan. The way the NBA currently operates does disadvantage small market teams, and the fact that MJ owns one of those small market teams doesn't make his statement any less true. It is in the best interest of the NBA to take a critical look at how it operates, which could mean contraction, a hard salary cap or even revenue sharing as MJ suggests.

DCZards wrote:

badinage wrote:
Michael Jordan, 2011:

"''The model we've been operating under is broken,' Jordan told Australia's Herald Sun. 'We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat. ... for us to be profitable in small markets, we have to be able to ... build a better basketball team.''

A lot of people/fans would agree with Jordan. The way the NBA currently operates does disadvantage small market teams, and the fact that MJ owns one of those small market teams doesn't make his statement any less true. It is in the best interest of the NBA to take a critical look at how it operates, which could mean contraction, a hard salary cap or even revenue sharing as MJ suggests.

I agree with Jordan's opinion, but is doesn't change the fact that he has been in the unique position to argue on both sides. I'm not sure that makes him a hypocrite. The players are going to look out for their best interests. The owners will do the same. That should be expected.

Now, I do think that Jordan generally comes off as a prick. The fact that he sucked when he was our GM doesn't help my opinion of him.

I'm more amused by this kind of thing than anything else. Of course Jordan's perspective has changed -- his role has changed. badinage is correct that he's primarily looking out for himself. To me, it's kinda like Romney attacking Obama's healthcare plan, which is based on the system Romney passed in Massachusetts.

I continue to maintain that the financial woes of small market teams can probably be fixed with revenue sharing. It'd be nice for owners if they could have a "get out of jail free" card to terminate bad contracts, but they could also do that by being smarter when it came time to hand out those contracts.