By JARED TKACHUK                   August 3, 2001

If Michael Jordan does return to the NBA as a player, the Wizards must not squander the opportunity by being satisfied simply with finally achieving mediocrity. They must go for the gusto, pull out all the stops, and take some risks. I have some suggestions for Washington in case of Jordan's return.

But I also want to clear something up about Michael Jordan. There seems to be an underlying fear in the basketball world that Jordan's comeback will be nothing more than a painful rerun of Mohammed Ali getting badly beaten by Larry Holmes, or of Willie Hayes staggering onto base after the rare occasion when he got a hit. I do not believe that this will be the case with Jordan.

Jordan is one of the most dedicated, hard-working, willful, and proud human beings to ever play a game. Perhaps the same can be said about Ali, but the two men attained different kinds of pride. Ali's pride allowed him to think that he was never too old to win. Jordan's pride prohibits him from embarrassing himself on the basketball court. Call it arrogance versus pride; call it whatever you want. But the fact is, unless Jordan believes that he can succeed (and that might not mean a 30 point per game scoring average, or winning the championship), he will not come back.

Penny Hardaway, who has played in private sessions with Jordan, says that "he could come back and average 20, easy...It was early, but he could still shoot, and get up and down the floor." Kwame Brown adds that Jordan's "still the best player out there (on the Wizards)." I agree with Hardaway's prediction that MJ will be score 20 or more points per game. He will not, however, be enough to pull the Wizards deep into the playoffs (or maybe not into the playoffs at all). Something needs to be done about this.

My first suggestion assumes that the Wizards have a certain amount of money at their disposal. I think that this is fair considering that they managed to unlatch themselves from the contracts of Rod Strickland and Mitch Richmond, each in excess of $10 million dollars per year, and saved about $2 million dollars in the Juwan Howard trade. I'm also assuming that Jordan won't demand another $27 million dollar per year contract, like he did in each of his last two years in Chicago.

Anyway, I believe that the Wizards should try and sign Anthony Mason (16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, while shooting 48.2%), one of the league's most solid role players (editor's note: Mason would growl at you for calling him a role player), whose efforts were rewarded last season with an all-star appearance. With no teams enthusiastically pursuing Mason's services, he is probably beginning to feel like the walls are caving in on him. Mace would probably accept a salary of somewhere around $6 million dollars per year (he made $5.5 last year). He, Christian Laettner, and Kwame Brown could split the center/power forward minutes evenly (32 each).

The biggest knock against Mason is that he's more trouble than he's worth. However, you have to remember that Jordan won not one, not two, but three championships with perhaps the most troubled player in NBA history: Dennis Rodman. I think he's worth the risk for the Wizards.

This may shock you, but I believe that Washington should try to trade Richard Hamilton (18.1 points, 3.1 rebounds per game), Jahidi White (8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game), Chris Whitney (9.5 points, 4.2 assists in 26.0 minutes), and Loy Vaught (3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.8 minutes) for Gary Payton (23.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game) and free-agent Jelani McCoy (4.5 points, 3.6 rebounds in 16.3 minutes).

If McCoy was signed to a $2.3 million dollar contract (he made $1.2 last year) and sent to Washington, this trade would be totally equal salary-wise ($14.5 million for each side). This would be perfect for the Sonics because they just recently signed Calvin Booth to a contract worth more than $5 million per year. The Wizards would start Laettner at center, Mason at power, Jordan at the small forward, Courtney Alexander at the 2, and Payton at the point, Brown playing at the 4 and 5, Tyrone Nesby playing behind Jordan and Alexander, and Tyronn Lue playing the few minutes when Payton actually sits.

The Sonics would have Hamilton, who is easily going to be a 20 point per game man. Last season, he scored in the 25-29 point range 6 times, the 30-39 point range 8 times, and had two 40+ point outbursts. You don't do those things by accident, and remember, he's only 23 years old and 2000-01 was only his second season. This kid's the real deal.

Jahidi White is still raw, but he is steadily maturing. Considering his average playing time was less than half the game, his stats are quite respectable. In fact, if you take his numbers from last year and calculate them for 32 minutes per game, White would have averaged 11.6 points and 10.3 rebounds. If he continues to improve, I can see him averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds one day. He is a legitimate center, something that is necessary for Seattle so that no one ever has to go through the painful experience of watching Vin Baker playing that position again.

Then there's Loy Vaught. Sometimes I think that my brother and I are the only two people on earth that remember that Vaught has skill. Remember the 3 seasons of 1994-97 when Loy Vaught averaged 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3% from the field, for the Clippers? I didn't think so, but he did it, and I think with honest minutes, he can average a double-double.

The last player Seattle would receive is Chris Whitney. He's a great three-point shooter (37.5%), he's very quick (both of which fit nicely into Seattle's "strategy"), and he matured nicely as a starter over the course of the last season when Strickland took his holidays a little early. And if all that is not enough for the Sonics, the Wizards can always throw in a good old draft pick.

Now Gary Payton has declared that he will only play for a contender, and that he will not play in the Eastern Conference. However, the last time I checked (which was this morning), he did not have a no-trade clause in his contract. Thus, he has no right to say where he will and will not play. The Sonics are probably being kind to Payton, rewarding him for his great years of service to the franchise. However, if Payton was completely miffed about a trade to Washington, I think that Jordan could convince him otherwise. 

If the history of the game has taught us anything, it's that a team with two stars and a solid supporting cast is a contender to win the title. Jordan and Payton would provide the stardom, and Mason and Laettner (one of the league's more underrated players) are excellent role players. Depending on the team's chemistry and how Kwame Brown and Courtney Alexander develop, the Wizards could suddenly find themselves being heralded as contenders, at least in the east. And if you put Michael Jordan in the position of a contender, who knows what tricks he still has up his sleeve. Please Washington, do everybody a favor and don't waste Michael Jordan. Get out there and get a team. Please.