ESPN caught up with Jordan at a celebrity golf course.  This is what he had to say.

“There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team,’” Jordan said.

This could be biased, since I have been a Bulls fan since I was four years old, but James will never be Jordan.  He doesn’t have the competitive edge that stand players like Jordan apart from the rest.  LBJ is a great athlete and a good basketball player, but it ends there.

Jordan said he would never have thought about calling Larry Bird or Magic Johnson to ask them to play together on the same team.  Why? Because he is a man who wanted to be the best.  Jordan can look in the mirror and say, I came to a bad team, picked them up and delivered six championships without ever asking for his buddies help.

Sure, he had Pippen.  Pippen was picked up in a trade with the Seattle Super Sonics.  No one thought he would be one of the 50 greatest players.  The two learned how to play with each other.  Jordan say, I don’t like his style, trade him.

LeBron’s decision to go to Miami doesn’t bother me at all.  Actually, I love it, because maybe the Jordan comparisons will stop.

Jordan built his legendary legacy by staying with one team through any diversity and won six championships.

In Jordan’s interview with ESPN he did say it is a different era.  Players like LeBron and D-Wade have the opportunity to converse with each other and join the same team.  I am a firm believer if Jordan played in this era, he would not do it.  He wanted to beat the best.  You can’t beat the best, if they are on your team.

Here is the column I wrote on the subject.

Stoudemire is a five time all-star and is revered as an explosive low post scorer.  By signing him, the Knicks have a little more leverage to get guys such as LeBron James or Dwyane Wade.

Before they sign Stoudemire, the Knicks have one of the worst lineups in the NBA.  Even the New Jersey Nets, who only won 12 games, have a better roster.  They just had more injuries and trouble in the locker room.

With Stoudemire on the roster, James and Wade know there is a guy there who wants to win a championship and has the skill set to do so.  I haven’t heard anything about James or Wade wanting to specifically play with Stoudemire, but having a low post threat on one of the teams who are putting a large number in front of them, never hurts.

What would happen if Wade or James did go to New York?  Would Chris Bosh and the other one sign with the Bulls?  The Knicks have Stoudemire, so, there is no room for Bosh on their roster.  If they sign LeBron, they wouldn’t necessarily need Wade and might not have the finances to do so.

Wade could then come to his home, Chicago, and bring Bosh with him.  Bosh is not going to resign with the Toronto Raptors.  He is just waiting to see where Wade and James go, so he can play with another elite talent.  Wade has met with the Chicago Bulls front office twice and has said the offer they presented was intriguing.

All signs are saying Wade to the Bulls and then whoever wants to win some games will join him whether it is Bosh, David Lee or Carlos Boozer.

On the other hand, LeBron met with the Bulls for three hours.  Both parties left the meeting in high spirits.  A Chicago marketing company brought a great campaign in his direction.

They sent him a pair of Michael Jordan’s Nike Airs to him and said “Do you think you can fill these shoes?”  Then they sent him the famous MJ poster of him floating in the air during a slam dunk contest.  They then asked Lebron if he could fill the shadow. James is extremely competitive and has an ego larger than huge bank roll.  He wants to prove he is as good as MJ, why not do it in the building he built?

Maybe, LeBron and Bosh are the future of Chicago.

Jackson left the Bulls more than 10 years ago, but I’ll always remember him as the Bulls coach, not the Lakers.  At 64, Jackson has had medical issues.  Lets face it,  it will happen to all of us.  No one is immortal.  The problem is,  with him out of the picture,  who will be the main dominant coach in the NBA?

Jackson has won 11 championships.  Many say it is because of his star players, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.  It makes a difference, but Jackson was the glue that made the role players just as important as his superstars.  He devises a game plan and coaches his players to stick to it.  He has been the best coach in my generation and quite possibly, the best in NBA history.

If you retire, I give you my farewell friend.   

In every position of every sport, we like to pick out the best.  Who will be the best active coach when Jackson leaves?  There is only a handful of guys who have been tenure 10-to-15 years. 

My pick would have to be Greg Popovich.  He created a dynasty with the San Antonio Spurs and even though their roster is old and waring down, they still intimidate the opposition.  He won four championships in nine years, with virtually the same squad.  Role players left or retired, but San Antonio kept replacing them with similar players.  “Pop” fit them into his game plan and continued the Spurs winning ways.

Besides Rajon Rondo being younger and faster than Derek Fisher, the Lakers had the advantage at every other position.  The argument can be made with Paul Pierce being better than Ron Artest.  Pierce had better stats, but Artest’s defensive pressure was a defying element of the Lakers taking the championship.  Pierce is also the Celitcs first option, while Artest is fourth or fifth behind Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.

Now to the reason I’m writing this.

With each Laker’s championship, there is always comparisons between Kobe and Chicago Bull’s great Michael Jordan.  As a Bull’s fan growing up in the 90′s, Jordan is my all time favorite player; he is the greatest.  On the other hand,  Kobe has been my favorite since MJ retired and on an all time NBA team,  Kobe is MJ’s backup as a two guard.  When it comes down to it,  Jordan was a better player.

The awards and championships alone favor Jordan.

Bryant now has five championships, tying him for the most rings of any player to ever wear a Laker’s jersey.  Hall of Famers, Magic Johnson and Kareem  Abdul-Jabbar also have five.  Since the beginning of the NBA, the Lakers have won 16 championships.

Jordan won six championships the Bulls have in two separate three-peat; these are the only championships in the Bull’s history.  MJ won five regular season Most Valuable Player awards in a era before the NBA became watered down because of more teams and concentration to athletic ability instead of basketball fundamentals.  Kobe has one, and as age is catching up to his legs and Lebron continues to put up great numbers, he may not win another.

Jordan went to six champions, won all six and walked away the finals MVP of each of them.  The Bulls are in the history books as the team to win the most championships without losing a final, all with Jordan.  Also, they never had to play a game seven.

Kobe has won his five championships in seven tries.  He has been the finals MVP twice, the last two seasons.  During the Lakers thre-peat from 2000-to-2003,  Shaquille O’Neal was the finals MVP.  Jordan never had to share, because he was the best player on his team.

If Jordan was the best player on his team every year and Kobe wasn’t, how is he in the conversation to be as good as Jordan?

Forgetting points,  Jordan was a better defender as well.  He won the defensive player of the year award in 1988 and was on the all-defensive first team nine times. Kobe has been on the team eight times, but has never won the award.

Stats, Jordan is the winner again.  Jordan’s career average is 30 ppg to Kobe’s 25.  Jordan’s career high is 37 ppg, Kobe’s is 35 ppg.  Jordan averaged 5.3 assists a game to Kobe’s 4.7.  Jordan grabbed 6.2 rebounds a game to Kobe’s 5.3.  I could keep going.

Kobe’s numbers are great.  He is a fantastic player.  Kobe Bryant is simply not Michael Jordan.

I know the comparisons will not stop.  As writers, we love to put an opinion of who is better than who, whose the greatest and etc.  I wish we could just let Kobe play his game without him thinking he is in Jordan’s shadow.

It will never happen.  Kobe will remain there forever.  He will be known as the second best shooting guard to ever play in the NBA, behind Michael Jordan.

His statement sparked some interest to see if any players have worked for the team after retirement.  I knew John Paxson, Johnny Red Kerr, Norm Van Lier and a few others had returned to work with the Bulls, but I didn’t know the full lineup.

Norm Van Lier

I contacted the Chicago Bulls office, and exchanged emails with Bull’s public relations man,  Shaun Hickenbottom.  He was able to give me a lengthy list of ex-players who work or have worked within the organization or have been an ambassador for the Bulls in the community.

Jerry Sloan, now head coach of the Utah Jazz, played for the Bulls for ten seasons 1966-1976. His #4 jersey was the first hung in the United Center. He returned to be a scout, assistant coach and eventually head coach for three seasons 1979-1982.

Jerry Sloan

Norm Van Lier played for the  Bulls from 1971 to 1978.  He became a television pre-game and post-game analyst for the Bulls in 1992.  Van Lier held the position until he passed away in 2009.

Johnny Red Kerr played basketball from 1954 to 1966.  He was selected by the Bulls in the NBA expansion draft in 1966 but opted to retire.  He was the Bulls first head coach, reaching the playoffs in the first two years of the team’s existence.  He left, then came back to work in the front office.  He began commentating in 1975 and continued until the 2007-2008 season.  He passed away the same day as Van Lier.

Bob Love played in Chicago for eight seasons, 1968-1976.  His #10 jersey was the second hung in the United Center rafters.  In 1993, he became the director of community relations.

Bob Love

Randy Brown was a member of the Bulls during their second championship three-peat, 1996-1998.  Brown was hired in July of 2009 as the Director of Player Development.

Sidney Green was the Bulls fifth overall pick in the 1983 draft and played in Chicago until 1986.  In September of 2009, Green was hired as Player Development Assistant.

Mike Brown, not the Cleveland Cavaliers ex-coach,  played one season with the Bulls 1987-1988, in his eleven year career.  He has been an assistant coach working with power forwards and centers since 2008.

Pete Myers played for the Bulls in 1986 and then came back to be the starting shooting guard during Jordan’s first retirement during the 93-94 and 94-95 seassons.  He was hired as a scout and was an interim head coach when Bill Cartwright was fired in 2003 and in 2007 when Scott Skiles was let go.  In-between his two short stints as interim coach, he was an assistant.

Bill Cartwright was the Bulls center during their first championship three-peat from 1991-to-1993.  He became an assistant coach for Phil Jackson and was a member of the coaching staff when they won championships in 1997 and 1998.  After Jackson left and Tim Floyd was hired and fired, Cartwright was the head coach for one full year and two partials.

John Paxon played in Chicago from 1985-to-1994.  He was a large contributor for the first three-peat.  He was an assistant coach under Jackson, then went to radio.  In 2003, he became the Vice President of Basketball Operations replacing Jerry Krause when he retired. On May 21st, 2009, he was replaced by Gar Foreman as general manager. Now, he is only titled as the VP of Basketball Operations for the Chicago Bulls.

B.J. Armstrong played for the Bulls from 1989-to-1995, winning three championships.  He returned for one season, 1999-2000, and then retired.  He was then named as an assistant to former-VP of Basketball Operations Krause.  Once Paxson took over, Armstrong became a scout and later became an agent.  He is currently Derrick Rose’s agent.

Bill Wennington was a center with the Bulls during their second three-peat.  He is now a radio color commentator for the Bulls.

Stacey King was also a center who won three championships with the Bulls.  He was a member of the team during the first three-peat.  King is currently a television commentator for the Bulls on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Lindsey Hunter was waived from the Bull’s roster March 3rd of 2010 after two seasons of service 2008-2010.  He was immediately hired as a Player Development Assistant.

The players who are or have been ambassadors for the Chicago Bulls in the community are:

Scottie Pippen

Artis Gilmore

Tom Boerwinkle

Dickey Simpkins

Dave Corzine

Mickey Johnson

Toni Kukoc

Derrek Dickey

Brad Sellers

Jay Williams

Johnny Back (Assistant Coach)

Wade can’t even add Pippen to his statement because he still represented the Bulls during events and speeches around the Chicago community.  The Bulls have had a large list of players who have come back to the organization in one form or another.  Many of them being members of the championship teams.

Michael Jordan is not on the list.  Okay.  Many superstar players work for another organization if they stay in the business.  Pippen and Armstrong came back to the Bulls at the end of their careers so they could retire as a Bull.

The involvement the ex-players have with the Chicago Bulls shows all sorts-of-signs of loyalty towards their players, especially the ones who helped win championships.

Wade said Jordan and Pippen are no longer in the organization and it is because of the Bulls not being loyal to them.

Bulls General Manager Gar Foreman said people are misinformed about the organization if loyalty is a question during this year’s free agency.

Wade hasn’t took back his comments but has said the free agents are going to have a summit to discuss where everyone is thinking they’re going to go.

It might have been a good idea to do this before he made the comments.

I think Wade is uninformed.  Many Bulls have come back to the organization in some way or another.  John Paxson is the current Executive Vice President of Basketball Operation.

There hasn’t been any sign or statement within the organization or from MJ and Pippen proving Wade’s theory true.

Retired Bull’s General Manager Jerry Krause may have had a play in this disloyal debate.  Phil Jackson and him didn’t get along.  Still, there isn’t any reason to blame an organization for one man, who isn’t even in the company anymore.

Unfortunately, I think this means Wade is not going to come to the Chicago Bulls.

It could be a good sign, because I don’t know if Wade and Rose would have worked well together. They play the same style of game.  The bad part is, will his comments and stand against the Bulls influence other free agents.  Boozer said he would play in Chicago, but what about Chris Bosh, Lebron James or even Ray Allen?

Wade has been reported to question the loyalty of the Bull’s management.  Joakim Noah and Lindsay Hunter have been quoted in the media saying Lebron should come to Chicago.  Bosh has listed Chicago as one of his five destinations he would like to play for next year.

Then the Bulls fired Vinny Del Negro, so they’re in the market for a new man on the sideline.  Avery Johnson, Byron Scott, Lawrence Frank, Jeff Van Gundy and Doug Collins are all ex-coaches looking for a job.  ESPN has sources who say Phil Jackson has been contacted to return as the Bull’s Head Coach and University of Kentucky’s John Calipari has been in the news for the job as well.

To add a little more controversy around the Bulls is the legacy of arguably the best player to ever grace the NBA, Michael Jordan.  It has been said players would not want to go to Chicago because they would be in the shadow of MJ.  The Utah Jazz’s power forward, Carlos Boozer, who is going to be a free agent, doesn’t agree.

I like these statements from Boozer.  Actually,  it makes his resume go closer to the top of the pile as a free agent pick up.

He isn’t scared to play in the house Jordan built.  He is showing pride in himself as a player.  He realizes the 90′s Bulls were great, but why shouldn’t any other great players be a Bull?

The Celtics have won the most championships in the history of the NBA.  This didn’t scare Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett going to Boston.  The Lakers are the second winning-est franchise in history.  This didn’t stop Shaquille O’Neal or Pau Gasol to moving to Los Angeles.   This didn’t stop Paul Pierce or Kobe Bryant from signing extensions either.

If anything Jordan and Scottie Pippen created a winning atmosphere other players should love to play in.  Sure, the Bulls fell off for about ten years, but this was because of former Bull’s general manager Jerry Krause causing problems with the stars and college players with tons of potential not panning out: Marcus Fizer, Jay Williams, Chris Duhon, Eddie Robinson and Tyrus Thomas.

I agree with Wade, because Jordan, Pippen or any other ex-Bull are nowhere near the organization.  I disagree with Wade because the management that was in place isn’t currently in office.  Jerry Reinsdorf is still the owner, but is he really the guy they don’t get along with, no.

For the most part it was Jerry Krause, who has retired in 2003 as the Bulls general manager.

Since then, there hasn’t been any rumors or problems with loyalty in the Bulls organization.

It would be great for Wade to get over Chicago’s past history and put on a Bull’s jersey.

Joakim Noah is becoming one of my favorite players.  He plays hard every minute of the game and at the same time shows a personality.  Whether it is talking thrash about Cleveland or looking at the crowd with an energized look when he swats a ball at them, he is showing Joakim the person.

Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James and Dwight Howard are just a few players who show a little or a lot of personality.

Noah has transformed himself into one of these players during the season.

The guys from HHR and Blogs with Balls  got the opportunity to spend a day with Noah.  I am extremely jealous.  My friends at Yardbarker.com thought it would be great to email me the video to rub it in. Thanks guys.

Noah seemed to be a real chill guy.  I can’t believe he tried to get one of them to wear the bowtie.  I couldn’t stop laughing.

Management has structured their entire roster around Lebron.  Still,  no playoff success.  He is going to leave.

Chicago has the money to afford him. Chicago is a big NBA market. 

There has been talk of him being in the shadow of Michael Jordan.  Everyone who comes to Chicago will be in this situation. Does this mean a super-star caliber player is never going to play for the Bulls, no.

The Bulls look like the best team in Lebron’s handful of options.  He should come to Chicago, win six championships and prove he is on an elite status as an NBA player.

For the last two seasons, the Cavs went into the playoffs with the NBA’s best regular season record.  Lebron has won back to back MVP awards. Last year they were eliminated in the conference finals and this year the conference semifinals. 

Brown has had the best player in game.  He has had two all-star players in Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison, an old but still playable Shaquille O’Neal and solid role players like Anthony Parker and Anderson Varejao to build around his superstar.  All ended in the defeat because he couldn’t coach them. 

If the Cavs fire Brown, it could show James they are willing to do whatever they have to do to get him to resign.  Sorry to burst Cleveland fan’s bubble, but James is gone anyway.