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American Morning

Michael Jordan's Playing Future in Question

Aired February 28, 2002 - 07:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: He is arguably the greatest player ever to play the game of basketball. He also perfected the art of the comeback. But this morning, Michael Jordan's playing future is in question.

Jordan underwent knee surgery yesterday. It's a knee that's been troubling him off and on for a couple of years. His current team, the Washington Wizards, placed him on the injured reserve list, and now it's unclear how long he'll be sidelined. There's even speculation that Jordan may call it quits for good this time.

Joining us from Washington, the "Washington Post" sports reporter, Steve Wyche. Steve, good to have you with us. Good morning.

STEVE WYCHE, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Thanks for having me on. Good morning.

CAFFERTY: I'm hearing everything from he could be back in two weeks to he's never coming back. What's the prognosis and what sense do you have of how Michael may respond to this latest challenge, which is conceivably a career-ending one?

WYCHE: I don't think it's career ending. It was an arthoscopic procedure, and in terms of an athlete, it's a fairly common procedure for a fairly common injury. It was a torn -- a little bit of torn cartilage. They went in there, they cleaned it up a little bit, they repaired a tear. And usually healing time is between three weeks to six weeks on this.

And knowing Michael Jordan, in a couple days he'll probably start some fairly aggressive therapy. And I would expect him back before the season, unless something happens along the way in his rehabilitation which won't let him come back.

CAFFERTY: Well they're not doing arthoscopic surgery on a 21- year-old body. Does that make a difference?

WYCHE: I would think it does. I mean, the fact that he's 39; the fact that he's played 13 and a half seasons probably could have something to do with the way his body bounces back. I mean, as we age, we don't come back nearly as quickly as we do, you know, when we're in our 20s or our teens. But Michael Jordan has astounded, I think, most people with the way his body has bounced back this time. He takes really good care of himself. And I'm sure with the care and treatment that he'll get, he'll at least make an attempt. This is by no means a career- threatening type of injury.

CAFFERTY: You remember before the season started, when he announced he was going to come back, the Washington Wizards were compared to that team that plays against the Harlem Globetrotters all the time. I mean, they were a joke, right?

WYCHE: Right -- the Generals, right.

CAFFERTY: And nobody gave them a shot at doing anything. Now Jordan, who's leading the team in scoring, leading the team in assists, he's got them in position to make a run at the playoffs. Who'd a thunk it?

WYCHE: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's why this comeback is just another chapter in a remarkable story in a story career. You know, they are two games under 500 right now. They've lost six games in a row. Four of those losses were with him -- with -- you know, with the team.

Again, his knee was hurting, he wasn't 100 percent. It's going to be interesting to see how the rest of these guys kind of see if they can stay afloat until he comes back, if he does come back this season. They played a real tough game against a very good Portland Trailblazer team last night; lost by four points in the last couple of seconds. If they can surprise a lot of people and pull out a couple of wins and kind of stay afloat for three weeks or four weeks until he comes back, they can have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

CAFFERTY: They're kids, though, and that's a plus, but it's also a minus. They may not have the mental toughness that Jordan brought to the locker room.

WYCHE: Yeah, that's a challenge. I mean, Michael really carried these guys through some tough times. He's made a career out of making big baskets late in games when games are tight. They don't have anybody who can do that now. But they also have a coach in Doug Collins, who hasn't gotten enough credit along this ride here, who's not going to let this thing be just a tremendous free fall.

I mean, they may lose some games they should win, granted, because of their inexperience. But I think they'll be in a lot of games. I think he'll challenge these players, you know, to compete. And I think a lot of these players are eager to show that they can play without Michael Jordan on the roster.

CAFFERTY: All right. It's just a great story to watch Michael Jordan no matter what he's doing. Steve, I appreciate you joining us and sharing your views on the story this morning. Thanks for being with us.

WYCHE: Great. Thanks for having me on. Have a good day.

CAFFERTY: You too. Steve Wyche, he's a sports reporter for the "The Washington Post" -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ACHOR: Hey, Jack, I have an admission to make here. I'm just a nanosecond older than Michael Jordan. I had a very similar procedure this time last year, and guess what, the fixed knee is working better than the good knee. So here's hoping for Michael Jordan.

CAFFERTY: Yeah, that's good news. The difference being you're not on the -- on the basketball court five or six nights a week.

ZAHN: This is true.

CAFFERTY: However, you do have to run -- you have to run back and forth across this studio, which is no mean feat. My knees are starting to bother me a little bit.

ZAHN: Yeah, because we hit every cable in sight.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

ZAHN: All right. Thanks, Jack.

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