By James "King" Kung

Why a move sending MJ to the Sacramento Kings would provide the perfect ending for His Airness

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When the legendary Michael Jordan decided to return to the NBA last season, he put his storied career and his world-famous reputation on the line, leaving the public with questions abound. Just one season later, the public's questions were answered with a resounding thud. Michael Jordan, the ultimate competitor, the legend, the Greatest Athlete Ever, proved last season that yes, even His Airness is indeed mortal.

After playing a remarkable first half of the season raising the lowly Washington Wizards out of obscurity and into the playoff hunt, Jordan's comeback was cut short by a knee injury, rendering him unable to achieve his goal of making the postseason. Along the way, Jordan endured public exposure to his troubled marriage, the most low-scoring game of his career (two points), a botched breakaway slam in front of the national media at the All-Star game, and a defeat at the hands of Kobe Bryant, now unquestionably the greatest threat to take over MJ's throne.

Now Michael Jordan must make another crucial decision: Should he play out the last season of his contract with the Wizards, or should he retire now before more damage is done? By staying with the Wizards, Jordan has a legitimate shot to redeem himself by making the playoffs, but risks significantly less playing time, more humiliation by younger players, further injury to his aging body, and more public exposure to the existence of his mortality. By retiring now, Jordan saves himself of these occurrences, but risks tarnishing what would have been a picture-perfect career on somewhat of a sour note.

Ohhh. the decisions. What's an aging legend to do?

Well, what about. neither?

What if Michael Jordan were to continue playing in the NBA, but instead of playing superstar with the Wizards, who have zero chance of winning a championship, played a key role on a championship-caliber team? A team that has the talent and athleticism and desire to win it all, but needs veteran leadership, championship experience, and fearlessness to put them over the top? A team that many believed deserved to win the championship this season? A team with an ever- increasing fan base, not only in its own city, but all over the world, to cheer them on?

Dare I say it? What if Michael Jordan finished off his career with the Sacramento Kings?

Okay, now, before accusing me of being just another fan with an unrealistic pipe dream, please hear me out. I'm not saying this will occur, but in an ideal world, MJ to the Kings would be the absolute best situation for both parties involved, and the returns to the NBA would be extraordinary: the most popular player of all time joins forces with the most popular team of today to dethrone the defending champions, adding more fire to what was already one of the most dramatic series rivalries in NBA history. The situation completely blows the mind.

1. The Kings Need MJ. As good as the Kings are already, and as good of a chance they have of defeating the Los Angeles Lakers next year, their chances to win would be significantly increased by adding Jordan to their already super-deep lineup (whose chances wouldn't?). But the present, aging Michael Jordan fits the Kings more perfectly than any other team, as the Kings have little use for athleticism, but rather need the qualities of MJ that do NOT die with age: playoff experience, a championship mentality, and fearlessness in the clutch (and the respect of referees wouldn't hurt, either). The Kings don't need numbers: they already have seven players who put up 10+ points a game. They don't need minutes: they're chock full of young players who can play 48 without breaking a sweat. All they need are the intangibles, and Michael Jordan at any age would deliver that in spades.

Truth be told, despite being cheated out of a fair Game 6 against the Lakers (of course, the Lakers probably got cheated out of a fair Game 5), the Kings lost Game 7 fair and square. Why? The reason was not talent or athleticism, but rather nerves. With the exception of all players named Mike Bibby, the Kings came into Game 7 with pressure beyond anything they had experienced, and their nerves got the best of them. What else could possibly explain shooting 16 of 30 from the free throw stripe? To overcome this hurdle, the Kings need championship experience and nerves of steel. Who better to teach this to them than the master himself? By instilling his values and his work ethic and his championship mentality into the Kings, Jordan could give Sacramento something that no other player could possibly give.

Wizards coach Doug Collins stated recently that, if Jordan were to play this season, he would only play at maximum 25-30 minutes a game from the bench. With Mike Bibby, Bobby Jackson, and Doug Christie manning the backcourt already, Jordan will only need to play 25 maximum, as long as that 25 includes that last 5 minutes of each playoff game. While Doug Christie is a superb defender who handled Kobe Bryant marvelously during the Kings-Lakers series, he was physically drained by the end of the series and thus failed to deliver in the clutch. Enter Michael Jordan. While Christie can certainly hold his own, Jordan can give Christie a well-deserved rest and provide the clutch plays (offensive and defensive), smarts, and leadership to finish down the stretch. Jordan and Bibby would be the ultimate clutch backcourt, as both have proven to have ice in their veins.

2. MJ Needs the Kings. Let's face it: In order for MJ to redeem himself as the champion that he really is, he won't be able to do it with the Wizards. With the Wizards in dire need of athleticism and talent, Jordan will have to physically carry the team with his body to ensure them a playoff berth, and he is simply too old to do that. His injury last year resulted from playing 40 minutes a game, and as mentioned above, he will not be able to do that this year. Furthermore, even if the Wizards somehow miraculously do make the playoffs with Jordan on the bench, will he really have "redeemed" himself and his reputation? Will Jordan be satisfied with a first- round playoff exit in the last season of his career? Will the public be satisfied? Chances are, the answers are no, no, and no. To truly redeem himself, Jordan will have to end his career with a championship, and not only that, he will have to play a key role on that championship team (ahem... Mitch Richmond).

Enter the Sacramento Kings. A team with all the makings of a champion EXCEPT experience and a championship mentality. A team with unquestionably the most loyal fans in the league, and a fan base that extends from Yugoslavia to Turkey to China. A team that many people, including themselves, feel deserved to win the championship this year. A team whose ultimate rival, the defending champion Lakers, includes Jordan's generational-rival Kobe Bryant. A team which can give Jordan a golden opportunity to play a defining role in winning a championship.

Just imagine. With MJ on the Kings, Jordan would use his leadership and killer instinct to give Sacramento the championship it deserves, and not only that, would do it in the ultimate fashion: by defeating the one man dead-set on dethroning him, Kobe Bryant. With a team filled to the brim with talent, Jordan could finally prove once and for all that given a fair shot, he is still untouchable. For those who asked if there could be a better ending than Michael Jordan's career than his last shot against the Jazz in 1997, here it is. Jordan overcoming his "heir," Kobe Bryant, in the Western Conference Finals, leading the championship-starved Sacramento Kings to their first NBA title. Redemption served on a silver platter.

Furthermore, since the Kings need MJ more for his presence than for his athleticism, an injury to Jordan would not mean the end, as the Kings would be able to hold their own without him. Contrarily, if he were to be injured, Jordan, with his winning attitude and undying competitiveness, would be able to help the team even more by being an inspirational leader and motivator from the sidelines. (Thinking ahead, this could lead to opportunities for MJ as a head coach in the future.) And, if Jordan were to recover before the end of the season, the Kings would still be in good enough shape for him to finish off his career on the court in championship style.

3. The NBA needs its viewers. After the debacle in Game 6 of the Kings-Lakers series which incited worldwide controversy and conspiracy theories abound, and after the pathetic television ratings of the Lakers-Nets Finals, the NBA and commissioner David Stern will certainly be seeking to clear its name and once again make itself popular again with the public. What better way to do it than to have the two most ratings-grossing events of last season (the return of Michael Jordan and the Sacramento-L.A. seven-game face-off), and combine them into one mega-super-playoff extravaganza? Think about it: a Sacramento team with one leg up from last year (a very big leg), and a Lakers team now newly motivated to take down the greatest player that ever lived. Talk about publicity. Talk about drama. The NBA's future and a twinge of its historic past join forces to take on its present Goliath. This would certainly be NBA basketball at its finest.

Even though the NBA has little control over trades and signings between teams, the league would undoubtedly reap benefits and praise from fans all over the world if such a deal were to go down. First, the NBA would have successfully repaid Sacramento and its fans for the Game 6 robbery (again, yes, it's true, the refs were almost equally "against" the Lakers in Game 5) by giving them the best player to have ever played the game. It would give the Lakers new motivation to play their hardest throughout the whole season. It would increase ratings through the roof by capitalizing on the most exciting playoff series and increasing its drama by tenfold. Fans of Michael Jordan who lost interest after his regular season injury would essentially be guaranteed to tune in for the postseason. Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers who enjoyed the series this year would support their team more than ever, as they will now challenge the Greatest to accomplish the unprecedented.

And of course, it's the rivalries that will make the NBA's ratings sky- high.

Kings vs. Lakers. The Kings will now have a truly special gift from the NBA to make up for it. With Michael Jordan, they will have no excuses. They will have veteran leadership, the ultimate championship mentality, AND the respect of the referees. This will now be the ultimate challenge for them. The Lakers, despite having established a dynasty and won three championships in a row, have always been criticized for not being as good as the Bulls of the 90's. With the star player of the 90's Bulls on their rivals' team, they will finally have the opportunity to show the world their place in NBA history.

MJ vs. Phil Jackson. The pupil vs. the teacher. MJ and Phil are on excellent terms, but a friendly rivalry would certainly be entertaining to the media and the public. It could give rise to the debate of who really was more responsible for the six championships in Chicago (though most would undoubtedly say MJ), and it could end the debate regarding Phil Jackson's merits as a coach. By winning championships with MJ as both his greatest asset AND his greatest rival, Phil Jackson would undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest coaches of all time.

MJ vs. Kobe. The mentor vs. the protégé, the old vs. the new, the battle for the throne. Countless shooting guards have been given the title "The Next Michael Jordan," including Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady, but no one has been as closely compared to MJ as Kobe Bryant. Now, with three championships under his belt, Bryant will have to take down Michael Jordan in a fair fight to reclaim his throne. Michael Jordan will now be given a fair chance to defend his namesake and retire unconquered, but the real pressure is on Kobe Bryant. By putting MJ on the Kings, Kobe's greatness, not as an individual player, but as a team champion, will be put to the test. Will he or won't he be victorious?

I'm not exactly sure whether MJ can join the Kings, and if so, I'm not exactly sure how. I can only imagine with his contract that he could go via trade, or via permission from the Wizards to opt out of it. And considering that Jordan's price tag is minimal by NBA standards ($3 million), money would not be a concern for either team. Whatever the case, moving MJ to the Kings certainly seems feasible to me.

I do know, however, that such a move would be infinitely beneficial to the NBA, and I wish that, for once, the NBA would actually listen to and adopt the ideas of its fans instead of dismissing them as ludicrous or unrealistic. I can guarantee that moving Michael Jordan to the Sacramento Kings would be the best thing the NBA has ever done for itself, for its fans, for the sport of basketball, and would resolve a handful of problems in one simple move.

But until the move actually occurs, it will be simply the stuff that NBA fantasies are made of. And like most NBA fantasies, it could hypothetically happen, but will not materialize due to some reason or another. However, while most reasons revolve around financial constraints or costs and benefits, this is not the case in moving MJ to the Kings. Rather, the sole reason that this fantasy may not become a reality is that it would simply be too good to be true.

James Kung is a freelance basketball journalist and a student at Stanford University. He sincerely welcomes any questions, comments, and is always looking for opportunities to write on the greatest sport ever (basketball). Please respond to him at kingkung26@insidehoops.net .