Michael Jordan Needs to Get In Front Of the Camera

Vince Dunlap

Preface; As an NBA owner, Michael Jordan is arguably the most unfairly criticized owner in the

NBA. It’s my believe that he’s an easy scapegoat due to his status as a former player. If we was

simply another billionaire who got his riches by luckily being born in the 50s, most of us

probably wouldn’t even know his name. Without Google, who owns the Sacramento Kings?

Yea, exactly. Nonetheless, here we are. And for that, I want to start this article off by

apologizing to Michael because the ensuing article with add to that criticism. And while it’s not

my intent, as a depressed Hornets fan, I’ve been moved to write this opinion piece.

*clears throat * here goes

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest NBA player of all time and in most people’s eyes, he is

the GOAT. So much so that after 20 plus years removed from his playing days as a Chicago Bull,

most of his records still remain in tact. Whenever a player reaches some sort of a milestone

today and they show the others who’ve done it as well, about 87% of the time MJ’s name is one

of the one’s mentioned. I made that number up by the way but you get the point. The way he

made the Bulls a sure fire bet for the bulk of the 90s is something that the NBA has yet to see

since. And as a result, many believe we will never see another player like him on the court ever

again. So why the hell has his success as a player not translated as an owner of the Charlotte

Bobcats/Hornets? I’ll tell you why and it’s pretty damn simple;

Because he’s not “all in the camera.”

Because you rarely see him at games.

Because he’s not using his status as perhaps the greatest of all time as a recruiting tool to get

marquee players.

Now I get it; it’s Charlotte. It’s a small market. It’s a very small market, and players don’t want

to come here. I get that narrative. But a few metrics say otherwise so bear with me.

Case #1:

When Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks back in 2000 the were a sub .500 team that

hadn’t been to the playoffs since the 1989-1990 season and were an obvious after-thought for

top FAs. Now some 20+ years later, the Mavericks are a destination for top FAs with yearly

expectations of going to the Western Conference Finals. How did he do it? Well when he

became owner, he treated them better than they were as a team. He treated them to 5 course

dinners after losses, first class traveling, improved the gym: all that. Could you imagine losing a

game by 20 and then eating caviar? Funny right. But it’s true. But perhaps the most important

thing he did was he made himself visible at games. He doesn’t sit in the press box or the

owner’s suite with his billionaire friends, nor does sit front row at the games keeping other fans

at bay. Instead, you can find him somewhere down in the lowers, sitting with the other fans in a

t-shirt giving the refs all types of hell. And the fans love it. And I’m sure the players see that and

say damn that guy actually wants us to win. Given the team’s success since Cuban took over, I’d

say players past and present responded to it.

Case #2:

Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones is old money. We know that. His pockets are

deep. Super deep. He can pay most top players whatever it is they want and not lose an ounce

of sleep. And he does. Why? Well it’s most definitely not because of a chance to win the Super

Bowl. In fact, I’m pretty sure my kids would have all graduated college before the Cowboys win

another Super Bowl. In my opinion, Jerry Jones is able to attract top talent simply because he’s

able to keep the Cowboy relevant. Even though the Cowboys haven’t seen an NFC Title game

since 1995, players constantly go there because, “it’s an honor to wear that star.” Think about

it, have you honestly seen a player choose to go to Dallas and when asked why, they respond

with, “a chance at a super bowl.” I bet hardly ever. Yet somehow top talent continues to go

there. And it’s for reason #1 that I mentioned earlier: Jerry is all in front of the camera. No

matter how the previous season has gone or how the current season is going, Jerry keeps the

Cowboys relevant, and that’s a huge perk for players. Even in a down year, NFL fans will

constantly get the Cowboy brand shoved down their throats through primetime, Monday Night

and Thursday night football games. Note: I wish the NFL would make the Cowboys play every

game on Sundays at 1pm EST to see if the ratings would stay the same. Make them play in

Europe twice too. All in all, no matter how Dallas is doing, the players know that by going there,

they’ll find themselves in primetime which means more exposure for them and bigger bucks.

Now let me be clear that I’m not saying I want Jordan to attract top talent simply for more tv

time. The hope would still be to win at a high level. Also, I don’t have kids.

I could present a few more cases, but to make this longer would be to risk losing and readers

who’ve made it this far. So I’ll say this:

Michael Jordan, I understand it’s your personality to remain behind the scenes and not be all in

the camera, and to be honest, I respect it. However, it’s simply not working. It’s hasn’t worked.

And considering how deep your pockets are relative to the other NBA owners, it’s probably not

going to work. So it’s my belief that you need to change it up. There’s absolutely no reason for

ESPN to release the Last Dance documentary, and then Terry Rozier states that he had no idea

you won back to back to back titles. Twice. He plays for you! NBA players should not be going

online saying they had no idea you were like that! You played in the 90s; not the 70s. You’ve got

to get out in front of the camera Mike. Whether that be coming to more Hornets games and

sitting courtside, or doing interviews. It can only help.

At the end of the day, the fanbase is tired. Exhausted. Depressed and stressed. And it’s hard to

even believe that there’s a clear path the team is on right now especially considering you guys

just fired a coach who improved his record in each of the past two seasons. And we still need a

big. Sorry Mason, just being real. But that’s more X’s & O’s than marketing and advertising. Not

sure if you’ll see this (pun intended), but somethings got to give. Looking for better days. Keep

Buzzin

-Depressed Hornets Fan