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Jordan may take NBA job
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January 13, 2000: 7:23 a.m. ET
Retired basketball star said to consider top post with Washington team
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Basketball icon Michael Jordan is weighing an offer from the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards to join the franchise as head of basketball operations, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
As head of basketball operations for the Wizards, Jordan would oversee the drafting and trading of players, and the hiring of front-office operations staffers, the Post reported.
The NBA has long been pushing for Jordan -- recently named the No. 1 athlete of the 20th century by ESPN -- to take an ownership stake in a number of teams, including the Wizards, according to league sources cited by the paper.
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Abe Pollin, who is majority owner of the Wizards, refused to comment Wednesday on speculation that Jordan was considering joining the franchise.
Pollin bought the franchise in 1963 when the team was known as the Chicago Zephyrs, moving the team first to Baltimore, then to Landover, Md., between Baltimore and Washington, and eventually to the nation's capital itself.
Pollin has already sold off a $200 million slice of his sports franchise -- the Capitals of the National Hockey League and a minority interest in Washington Sports and Entertainment -- to a group headed by America Online (AOL) executive Ted Leonsis and businessman Jonathan Ledecky. Washington Sports and Entertainment includes the Wizards, US Airways Arena in Landover, Md., Ticketmaster outlets in the Washington/Baltimore region, and MCI Center in Washington.
The part-ownership of the Wizards by the group would complicate potential negotiations for Jordan to gain an ownership stake, according to the Post. The paper said Washington Sports has right of first refusal to buy the rest of the team when Pollin decides to sell.
Jordan was unavailable for comment on the report of a possible management role with the franchise.
Jordan, who retired from the Chicago Bulls last year, was widely speculated to have considered a potential ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets last year. But no deal materialized. 
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