USA - Jordan determined to stay in background

Any Charlotte Bobcats fans expecting to see much of their latest investor Michael Jordan this season should think again.

It's not that the playing legend won't be involved, but he'll be doing it from a distance.

Jordan bought a share in the franchise - still relatively young as it enters its third season - from majority owner Bob Johnson earlier this summer, but remains in the background, concerned that were he to be more visible, he would overshadow the whole organisation.

Jordan does not want the Bobcats to become an extension of the Jordan brand, but if the relationship can work the other way, all the better.

"What's being asked of me is to help build a team," said Jordan, in London as part of a nine-day European tour.

"Any time my being around the city or having dinners, any time that's going to help, I'm not afraid of that, but people want to see the product - what's being played on the basketball court. That's not me.

"I'm a part of it because I'm invested but don't get involved because you expect to see me on the basketball court."

Instead, Jordan plans to be only an occasional visitor in North Carolina, spending most of his time working over the phone from his home in Chicago.

"It's not a day-to-day responsibility," he said of his role. "It's more about overseeing that the people in place make sound business decisions and sound basketball decisions.

"I understand that portion of the business and I'm just going to lend my help to that. Even though I'm invested financially, I'm also an overseer of what's going on, making sure that from an investor standpoint it's being done properly."

Jordan's stance comes with the benefit of experience gleaned from his time with the Washington Wizards where there was a sense his name was exploited.

Although his time in the nation's capital did not end in success, Jordan insists it was a positive experience.

"I thought it was a great experience," he said. "We didn't win a championship and they chose to go in a different direction...but when I first got there they were in a hole. When I left they were not.

"I also understood what was asked of a business, and some of the choices you have to make from a business standpoint. I think that's going to aid my overlooking what's happening in Charlotte."

A test of Jordan's influence in Charlotte is expected to come next summer when the team will have anywhere between $20-25 million in salary cap space.

Johnson's reputation suggests he will be reluctant to spend it, but Jordan's desire to make the team competitive quickly may override that.

Not that Jordan plans to blow it unnecessarily.

"I think we're going to look at all facets of it. I don't think we can think about what we're going to do next year until we have a full understanding and a full vision of what we have this year.

"We've got young players who are developing, so it's about looking at the team, seeing what you need and what you may not need."

The Bobcats are just part of a busy schedule for Jordan which has seen him transformed from the greatest basketball player of all time into a leading sports businessman.

His Jordan brand of sporting goods continues to thrive, and he has recently signed up to be part of Chicago's bid to land the 2016 Olympics.

For all that he is enjoying his new life, whenever October comes around and the pre-season is in full swing Jordan admits he longs for the days when he was part of it on the court.

"You get an itch," he said, "but it's not big enough to scratch.

"Now I live vicariously through other situations - through the Bobcats, through my kids - just the game of basketball. I love watching it. I know deep down my mind still feels like I can play, but physically it's not the same."

But Jordan sees plenty of parallels between what he does now and what he did as a player.

"There's not much of a difference," he said. "You have a vision in terms of what you're trying to achieve and you put forward the work to make sure you achieve that.

"It's easy to take shortcuts in this world, but I've always been a firm believer that from a basketball standpoint if I take a shortcut then I'm not going to get what I really deserve, and we as a brand we take that same philosophy.

"We go out and understand what kids want. They have a strong passion for the game and a strong passion for the products, and we make sure we put that in our product.

"It's not a lot of different to what I did on the basketball court. I have a lot of involvement in this, I have a lot of passion for this and that's why

I've come to Europe because we want to continue to grow the brand globally."