Passed through an executive role before becoming the owner of the Hornets, Michael Jordan has never worn the coaching label. A choice that he has already justified in the past, with reasons that agree perfectly coming from him!
Scorer, barker, leader: Michael Jordan owned a lot of caps during the Bulls’ heyday. For many, he even represented the perfect relay to Phil Jackson on the ground, he who naturally tended to transmit instructions to his teammates. Same observation in training, where he sometimes approached a tyrant according to the testimonies of former teammates.
In view of this portrait, it may therefore seem surprising that His Airness has never tried to make a name for himself on the benches of the league. Rather than carry out a conversion worthy of Steve Kerr, he preferred to stay in the offices of his franchises, passing successively from GM of the Wizards to owner of the Hornets. All without much success. However, do not count on him to try to make up for lost time.
Michael Jordan too demanding for the current generation?
While Charlotte was looking for a main coach following the dismissal of James Borrego, some may have dreamed of the appointment of Jordan. In the end, it was Steve Clifford who was chosen, to the delight of the big boss of the franchise. In an interview with Marvin R. Shanken and Cigar Aficionadothe latter asserted that he was in no way capable of occupying such a position today:
You know what my biggest problem is from a competitive point of view? It’s that between the attention that today’s athletes pay to the game and that which was mine, there have been many changes, and it’s totally different. So asking a player to behave like me in certain areas would be unfair to him. Not to mention my reaction if he didn’t follow my instructions.
Even if a trainer must hold a firm speech, and display clear certainties in his instructions, MJ would go too far in this aspect. Indeed, he would not accept to see his players show less involvement than his, which would necessarily pose a problem. So he said he never even imagined taking on such a role:
I don’t think I would have had the patience to do this job, so that’s why I never really considered doing it. Because I wouldn’t be able to emotionally.
In view of his colorful reactions during his team’s matchesit is true that the presidential box seems largely sufficient for him!
A fine connoisseur of the NBA and its workings, Michael Jordan does not consider himself to be suitable for the position of coach. An assertion that makes sense given the justifications invoked, but which still risks leaving some regrets in the minds of fans!