Now or then, nothing more than business

Over the weekend Michael Jordan became maybe the last person on the planet to comment on LeBron James forming a basketball trinity with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Jordan said that he never thought of calling Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to form a similar bond when each was in his NBA prime.

At least Jordan conceded that these are different times and therefore he wasn't criticizing James.

Still, Jordan's proclamation implied that times, people and values were better in the good old days.

Sorry, but I don't believe many athletes believe what they say.

Take free agency. If a long-retired baseball player says he never would have left the team he played for his entire career, figure there's a good chance he would have if the option were available.

I wonder a lot what Ernie Banks' career would have been like if the Cubs didn't have exclusive rights to him.

Would Banks have played for one team from 1953 to 1971? Would he be Mr. Cub to this day or be Mr. Cub/Yankee/Angel/Cardinal?

If a free agent in 1959 at age 28, after winning his second consecutive MVP award, Banks would have been worthy of baseball's highest salary. Would Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley have paid it or dared Mr. Cub to walk?

A good guess is if the price weren't right here, Banks would have embraced the highest bidder. The game's economics were different then, but players still were human.

So if the NBA's economic structure were different 20 years ago or Jordan were playing 20 years later, well, both he and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf would have faced interesting decisions.

In the end each would have done what was best for himself as a businessman in a business environment.

Reinsdorf did what he had to do to retain Jordan's services because he knew what this player meant to him.

Meanwhile, Jordan did what he had to do, which was stay here because Chicago provided everything he needed and so much of what James didn't have in Cleveland.

Jordan enjoyed the market that helped make him wealthy, the teammates that helped showcase his ability and the organizational infrastructure that helped make him a champion.

If Cleveland and the Cavaliers could provide James with similar resources he still would reside in northeast Ohio.

When James didn't see help on the way he bolted to join Wade and Bosh in Miami.

The question is whether MJ would have done likewise if his circumstances were the same as LBJ's?

Yes, probably, Jordan would have left to play with Bird and Magic, or Karl Malone and John Stockton, or whomever and whomever, especially considering he still would be Superman on a Super Team.

Heck, when Jordan was James' age he was publicly campaigning for Bulls management to take some of the burden off him by fortifying the roster.

Anyway, remember, Jordan abandoned the Bulls to retire at the peak of his career in 1993 because it was best for him. Then he eventually played for Washington after retiring here in 1998 because it was best for him.

World-class athletes then and now do what's best for them and that likely won't ever change.

mimrem@dailyherald.com