W.W.M.J.D.?

It's do or die. Everything is on the line for this basketball team. There is time for one last shot. Luckily, Michael Jordan will take that shot.

No, this is not the story of one of the Chicago Bulls six championships. This is about more than just a season or a ring. This is about the fate of an entire franchise.

The Washington Wizards, the hapless team formerly known as the Bullets, finally had a ball bounce their way when they won the NBA's draft lottery. Of course, in typical Wizards fashion, the first overall pick in this year's draft is not the coveted prize it has been in some other years. But it is the first pick; the stuff legends are made of. It is the fine line between superstars and disappointing busts. Between future championship teams and pathetic NBA doormats.

There's been plenty of speculation about whether or not Washington will trade the pick, and whom they should select if they keep the pick. While the experts insist that the best players in this draft are the high school phenoms, does Washington want to be the first team in NBA history to take a high schooler with the top pick? Do they want to trade out of the first slot and watch another team draft the next Kevin Garnett? Are they stubborn enough to just pick Shane Battier, clearly the most solid and polished player available, even though the aforementioned experts claim he's not a number one pick?

Ah yes, the Wizards find themselves in a lose-lose situation. If they trade out of the top spot, they'll give up their first (and maybe last) chance at a number one pick. If they keep it, there's always the possibility that they'll pick the wrong guy. We're talking about a team that got rid of Chris Webber and Rasheed Wallace, only to see them blow up into two of the best power forwards in the game. (My brother and I used to have a theory that even the greatest players in the world would run down the court, look down to realize they were in a Washington uniform, and miss a wide open layup.)

But luck may finally be on the side of the Wizards in the form of Michael Jordan. In previous years, the Wizards always ended up getting the lowest pick statistically possible. This year, there was this feeling that the ping-pong balls would finally go their way. MJ is charmed. When he played, you knew his team would always win. And he's the only person, place or thing that could have brought this team the luck they so desperately need.

It still remains to be seen if he'll don the Wizards uniform and test our theory of the Washington curse. He might not need to bother scuffing his legacy to save this franchise. He can hit the game-winning shot and change this team's fortunes without ever stepping on the court. He can also make his mark as an NBA executive by picking the right guy. While everyone has been busy criticizing SuperMike for being in over his head, and not being as successful in the front office as he once was on the court, he did manage to trade one of the most un-tradable contracts in all of sports (Juwan Howard), and got two promising first-rounders in return (Courtney Alexander and Etan Thomas). Now, he has the chance to really prove himself by doing the right thing with this pick.

Other than Battier, perhaps the last of a dying breed of battle-tested college seniors, the rest of the talent at the top of this draft is so young and untested, it's really anyone's guess as to which guy is the next superstar, and which guy is the next Michael Olowokandi. That's the main reason the teams at the top of this draft may be inclined to trade down a few slots. The high school kids or college underclassmen that are long on talent and potential and short on experience and maturity can be found as easily with the tenth pick as they can with the first. Which is why Jordan may end up trading out of the top spot in return for more picks and/or solid, young veterans. But right now, this franchise is desperate for the hype and promise of a Number One pick.

So the clock is running. Days are ticking away as the draft approaches and, as usual at crunch time, the ball is in Michael Jordan's hands. Around Washington, people are changing that religious acronym from WWJD to WWMJD. And what will MJ do? Will he trade the pick, just as he passed the ball to Steve Kerr, letting him hit the title-winning shot in '97? Or will he rise to the occasion the same way he elevated over Craig Ehlo? He should pick Battier (or have the nerve and foresight to pick the biggest and best of the high schoolers) and shrug off all the so-called experts, just like he pushed off Bryon Russell to bury Utah in '98, and hit the picture-perfect winning shot.