Scott Howard Cooper of the Sacramento Bee writes that recent events bring perspective to what ordinarily would have been a huge story in Washington -- just as this writing takes its proper place -- but does nothing to change the bottom line in NBA terms, or to provide a compelling story line for those who need the distraction of an impending basketball season.

The people who protest that the last thing the NBA needs is to maintain this tie to the past, especially after a playoffs in which the next generation stepped forward, are many of the same fans and media members who will cry in an instant that the talent pool is not big enough and that there aren't enough players with a foundation of fundamentals. So here's not just the best player ever, but someone who maintained that standing in the later years of his career with jump shooting, defense and ballhandling.

He will be playing in Washington, a city that needs a real boost. Little could anyone have imagined when talk of a Jordan return inched closer last week how much that could really mean for the Beltway. Oh, and the Wizards' first game of the regular season? At New York.