March 6, 2010 – I can think of three off of the top of my head, Mario Lemieux, Magic Johnson (whose piece of the pie is tiny) and now, Michael Jordan… players who became owners. None of them jump to the top as earthmovers or conduits for their team’s success. Lemieux comes close, navigating bankruptcy, drafting Sidney Crosby, rebuilding and winning a Stanley Cup last year. But he was guided through the process by businessmen, propped by civic gifts, used to keep a dynamic face on a struggling franchise, and he was financed to the hilt. Magic has virtually no input into the Lakers success, as he stands in line behind the Buss family, Mitch Kupchak and even Phil Jackson as an influence on the Lakers success. But he has built himself a major business empire, focusing on building business in urban settings, which is another sign, as his time spent influencing the Lakers takes a backseat to his personal enterprises.

So that brings us to Michael. Taking over a debt-ridden team in his home state. Utilizing other people’s money. Buying at a discount for $175 million, when Robert Johnson paid $300 million to enter the league just a few years ago. Declining attendance. A recession. Major drops in advertising and ticket sales. Eight to nine figures in losses. A middling team. Salary caps. League upheaval where competitive pride loses out to cap room. A powerful, intrusive and demanding coach.

And so how does Michael tackle this latest challenge? From under a plume of cigar smoke? From behind the ropes at the clubs? From the golf course? In the casino? By taking advice from Charles Barkley? By making buttboy Ahmad Rashad his general manager? Won’t this interfere with his plans for his golf and gambling event in the Bahamas in the middle of the NBA season?

It’s not that Michael hasn’t given us a a hint about his front office stylings. After a mammoth career in Chicago, he couldn’t fit with Jerry Reinsdorf, where he belonged, so he teamed with Abe Pollin (which included a comeback clause) in Washington where he went from court to front office and wore out his welcome in a short time. His choice of player talent became legendarily bad and included responsibility for drafting Kwame Brown, trading Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, drafting diabetic Adam Morrison ahead of Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay and so on. His method of decision-making often meant strapping on his Jordans and going against players, something he’d been doing since he was nine when he began picking sides. Forget scouting, film, third-party opinion or background checks. If you could put a move on the aging MJ, chances were you were for him. More time for the party and the guessing games about where he was.

So David Stern announces Jordan’s impending arrival with glee. A league icon taking over a floundering franchise in North Carolina. Stern watched him save his league once before, maybe he can save one of his several failing teams?

But will Michael work at it? Does he have the stuff for success if it isn’t handed to him like Dean Smith handed him minutes, like Chicago handed him the ball, like Nike handed him an empire and god handed him that talent? Or will it be like his baseball career, where very little of the above happened for him and he failed miserably?

There have been owners before him who golfed and gambled. Other owners who party. All owners have their entourages in their boxes. But what temperment will Michael take to this new game of running an NBA team with ultimate influence? Will he go at it like he did on the court? Will he employ talent and listen to others? Will he get along with Larry Brown? Will he be able to separate how he did it, from what he wants? Or, will he be vindictive like we saw at his Hall of Fame induction? Like he has with reporters and followers and other NBA people that he has left in his wake? Can he check his ego at the door and watch as LeBron and Kobe rewrite his legacy? Can he be patient and build a team over time? Can he wait for that lucky break that comes with most winning teams? Like a first round pick that comes through a lottery, that yields a Shaq or a LeBron or a lesser pick that brings a Kobe or maybe the next Michael?

The Bobcats future hangs in his balance, under a plume of cigar smoke.