(above : Jordan’s decision to squander a no. 1 pick on “Workaholics” fixture Uncle Blazer is just one of his many personnel mistakes)
Along with advising the done-for-2012 Jeremy Lin to be more open with the media about his physical condition — “where does he think ‘Linsanity’ started, anyway?” (I’d say Twitter) — the New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence reports Bobcats owner Michael Jordan recently instructed GM Rich Cho to prepare for “rebuilding,” with plans to bail on Charlotte in the not so distant future.
“I told Rich to make us better,” Jordan told one associate recently. “If that doesn’t work and I can’t make a profit in the next three to four years, then I’m selling.”
This is a change of plans for Jordan, who over almost the past year has been seeking a buyer to purchase half the team. The Bobcats lost $20 million last season and they’re headed for more big losses this season.
Jordan’s decision to give the assignment of rebuilding to Cho means that Rod Higgins, his long-time president of basketball operations who goes back to when he ran the Wizards, is on the outs. Jordan told Cho, the Thunder’s former assistant GM who arrived in Charlotte last June, to “follow the Oklahoma City model.” (good luck with that, because there was some major luck involved in Oklahoma City’s ascension to the top of the Western Conference).
Because Jordan has been such a failure as an owner — even drawing rare criticism recently from his best pal, Charles Barkley — there will be plenty of fans in Charlotte who hope this next rebuilding campaign is a flop. Just so that he sells and gets out of town.