Jordan Becomes Part Owner of Washington Wizards
GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: And finally, former basketball superstar Michael Jordan is returning to the game he long dominated, this time in a corporate role. The official announcement came a short time ago. Nick Charles, of CNN/"sports Illustrated" is at the MCI Center in Washington -- Nick.</s>NICK CHARLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, maybe the most famous man or person on the planet, certainly the most renowned basketball player in history, was back on the NBA stage here this afternoon, this time as part owner of the Washington Wizards. He wouldn't reveal what his plans or his financial investment in this team, but Michael Jordan was eager to tell us how he will put his imposing imprint on a team that's languished far more years than he'd like.</s>MICHAEL JORDAN, HEAD OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS, WASHINGTON WIZARDS: As much as you guys may have given me the respect of being here and certainly the expectations that I kind of set for myself because I used to shoot a basketball through a rim pretty decent, this team and my efforts to try to make this team a successful one is going to take some time, but I look forward to the challenge.</s>CHARLES: He will evaluate, says Jordan, sit back, but not sit back too long. He's put no time table on winning, but vows that he will win here in Washington. Once again, he wants to understand what he has on this team, and then he wants to act. He's head of basketball operations, but in terms of acting, Gene, what he'll do is look at the present roster and the coaching staff and try to infuse the burning desire to win that he brought when he played the game. If they don't have it, he will act and make moves and try to transform a team that hasn't won a playoff game in a dozen years. The big news though -- and we talked to many people here in Washington who have been following the sports scene for a couple decades, they say it's the biggest news in maybe 20 years to hit town.</s>RANDALL: And, Nick, at lease for now, it's a psychological lift for this franchise, isn't it?</s>CHARLES: Well by all means. I think the players -- they're standing behind me right now -- they know, they're talking about M.J., Michael Jordan, being the boss. They know what he expects of himself, always a lot, and what he'll expect of them, and he'll move them out and just clear the roster clean if they don't act, but he's financially handcuffed. With the salary cap, he's not going to be able to work miracles. Let's be realistic. He's got a lot of high- price players, and they're veterans and they're aged, and they're not going to be that easy to move. So Jordan will, again, try to impose his presence on this team certainly much more in a symbolic sense. He's willing to work to do the job.</s>RANDALL: All right, Nick, thanks very much.