Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan took some heat last week as his team looked as if they were going to post the worst record ever in the NBA. They sealed their fate this past Wednesday night with a loss to the Orlando Magic, and Jordan as well as the team has received a high volume of criticism which Mike feels is unwarranted.
Talks of Mike's administration being a bunch of "yes men", afraid to address him, was something that Jordan felt was ridiculous and he sought to put those talks to rest.
"It's absolutely wrong that I don't want guys to challenge me. And the people who say that aren't in the room".
"The idea that people can't do that is just wrong. Curtis Polk, team Vice Chairman, has worked with me for over 20 years and he's never had a problem telling me, 'no.' Rod Higgins has no problem telling me no. Fred Whitfield has no problem telling me 'no.' And Rich Cho is about as direct and candid a person as you'll ever meet."
Jordan revealed that he felt his squad would have their issues throughout the season, but the worst record in the league was something he didn't foresee.
"This was going to be a trying year – we knew that. But did we want to chase the most Ping-Pong balls? No way.''
"Ever since I've owned the team, I think we've made some very positive moves on the business side. We had to make a difficult decision to turn over the talent."
"This year the talent we had didn't respond, but that doesn't cause me to turn my back on the plan."
Even though the organization is obviously in rebuilding mode, MJ remains optimistic about the team's future.
"They are being judged wrongfully. We're on the right track,'' Jordan said. "I didn't anticipate a season anything like this, but we had to make some difficult decisions, with Boris Diaw, for instance (Bobcats bought out his contract).
Better luck next season.
