The Jordan experiment -- Grand success or colossal failure?

By Louis Llovio Sports Central Columnist

The Michael Jordan era ended in Washington much as it began: a large crowd, throngs of reporters, video tributes, and all the associated fanfare.

And, oh yeah, with a Wizards' loss.

As Jordan's farewell tour made it's way to NBA towns across the nation and into Canada, much has been written, not all of it good, on whether his return can be deemed a success or not.

Jordan, usually a media darling, was subjected to criticisms ranging from his management style in assembling this team to taking up valuable minutes which could have been used to develop the young talent the Wizards were loaded with.

A lot of the criticism was deserved, but the fact is, the hapless Wizards were better off with him. If not for anything else, at least night in and night out, the Wizards were something Washington fans were not accustomed too: competitive. The fans would have loved a trip to the playoffs, but with two weeks to go in the season, in spite of the infighting and a 40-year-old man leading the team, they were still very much in the hunt.

A rough West Coast road trip in March and a heartbreaking loss to the Milwaukee Bucks late in the season were all that separated the Wizards from the eighth-seed in the East. Coming off of a 19-63 record in 2000-2001 the 37 wins the last two years was a welcome relief. Even a whiff of the playoffs was enough to rally a city for a team that has appeared only once in the postseason since 1988.

Besides the winning, Jordan's presence put bodies in the seats. His draw on the road was unmistakable but in Washington, where celebrity is as mundane as executions are in Texas, there were 82 consecutive sellouts, an average increase of over 5,000 tickets per game. Not to mention, an increase in the team's merchandise sales. For the first time in 25 years, you didn't have to feel self-conscious for wearing a Wizards (Bullets) t-shirt in broad daylight.

But the novelty is done. Jordan played his final game ever -- the third one -- Wednesday night. His true legacy with this team will be in what happens in the next few years.

As an executive, he inherited a team dragged down by Rod Strickland, Juwan Howard, and Mitch Richmond, an assemblage of over-inflated salaries paid to severely under-performing players. If ever the NBA needed poster children for what was wrong with the league it was those three. Personal problems off the court coupled with, at best, lackluster performances on the court stifled any potential for growth or the ability to attract even mid-range free agents.

To make matters worse, they were all signed to long-term, high-dollar guaranteed deals. Jordan cleared them and their salaries out, paving the way for between $5 and $12 million dollars in salary cap space (Jerry Stackhouse's future with the team will be the difference).

The question is can they attract the best and brightest players and build on the fragile foundation they've constructed?

The current roster is made up, for the most part, of decent talent. But the chemistry, as the implosion late in the season showed, might just not be there. Kwame Brown, who Jordan, against the best advice available, selected with the first-pick of the 2001 Draft, is by all accounts a bust.

If he can't learn under the tutelage of arguably the best player in the history of the game, whom is he going to learn from? Plus, Stackhouse, who led the team in scoring, was a borderline malcontent as the season neared the end. The rest of the squad is made up of a mixed bag of grizzled veterans who've had a hard time finding a permanent home and young, raw recruits awed by the spectacle of the NBA. This team is going to have to work on its personnel problems, a seemingly endless process for this franchise.

During the 1980 election, Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan asked the American people if they were better off than they were four years earlier. The same question can now be asked of the Wizards. The answer is yes. However, when you are rising from the depths of the sewers, the view from the gutter is pleasing for a little while.

What happens in the next few years will solidify Jordan's reputation in Washington one way or another. The instant impact can't be denied. Tens of thousands who never got to see The Great One play flocked for one last chance to see history. Win or lose, for many, it was a memory to cherish. Like watching Johnny Unitas in a Charger uniform or Emmitt Smith in Cardinals red, it is the history of what the great ones once were, despite the diminished skills, that the fans line up to see.

Jordan's legacy was enough to generate hope and maybe create a whole new generation of fans.

If that is what Jordan's return is judged on, then it can't be denied: it was a rousing success.

Management now needs to seize the reins and capitalize on the new fan base, the excitement, and the renewed interest in a once-dead product.

But, for now, where are the Washington Wizards after two years with Michael Jordan? The same place they've been 13 of the last 14 years: at home watching the playoffs on TV.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.