Jordan Begins to Ponder End of His Road : Pro basketball: With little to prove on the court and finding negative press off of it, a third consecutive NBA title could be enough to let Bull star walk away on his own terms.

John Paxson grew into manhood amid the madness of it all, an average basketball player from middle America who is also illuminated by the spotlight of the greatest show on earth. And to a greater extent than anyone but the star himself, Paxson has seen the entire production unfold.

But as he stood beneath the floor of Chicago Stadium two weeks ago, arms folded across his chest, his eyes cold and serious, Paxson could find neither the envy nor the desire to be like Mike.

“I wouldn’t want to do it,” Paxson said. “I’ve seen it and I wouldn’t want it, not for a day, not for a week.”

Exactly how much longer Jordan wants it remains to be seen. Jordan, 30, insists that only the possibility of a third straight title brought him back this season. Though there is no recent threat he will walk away if the Bulls win again, the end has never been closer.

Jordan has pointed to Julius Erving’s last seasons as a good, but no longer great, player as something Jordan himself would not endure. The first slip will be the last one and the game, not his life, will decide that.

“When I feel that I’ve reached my peak and I can feel my skills diminishing, or if other players that I used to dominate have caught up with me, I will step away,” Jordan has said. “There would be a long line of articles saying so-and-so killed Jordan tonight. I’ll step away before I subject myself to that.”

By all accounts, Jordan’s performances have never been better. He is generally recognized as the game’s best player and, to a growing segment, the greatest of all time. Indeed, on every front, from shooting to defense to passing and leadership, Jordan has improved upon the original script.

And that’s exactly why Chicago rolled into Phoenix as heavy favorites for another title.

“Michael is definitely the MVP,” says Bulls Coach Phil Jackson, in the wake of the award going to the Suns’ Charles Barkley. “Everybody knows that. Any vote that goes against him is just denying that fact and saying, ‘Let’s give it to somebody else as a token.’ He’s getting better every year as a player, no doubt about it.”

But that’s no longer enough. At a time when what we all inherently like most about Michael Jordan has never been better -- his play -- Jordan has never seemed more capable of disappointing. So get a good look because the same cultural forces that propelled Jordan beyond sport may now drive him off the stage.

“I think we all have a certain tolerance level,” says former coach and current NBC commentator Mike Fratello. “But when it goes beyond what you think is an understanding of what goes with the territory, how long will you accept that before you say ‘that’s enough’?”

“He is what he is: the ultimate competitor,” Bulls operations chief Jerry Krause says. “I thought Jerry Sloan was, but Michael’s the ultimate. When he walks out there between the lines, whether its practice or games, he kills himself seven days a week. That’s enough for me.”

There seems to be a dark side to the great American fame machine. How else to explain the embarrassing performances by two of the media’s most trusted institutions, Bob Costas and the New York Times, during the Eastern Conference Finals?

Change the face, alter the voice and Costas’ interview with Richard Esquinas, whose book alleges that Jordan’s debt to him for golf bets reached $1.2 million, easily might have been confused with the kind of paid discussion usually confined to late-night television. Or how about the Times, the same institution that revealed the name of an alleged rape victim in the William Kennedy Smith case, choosing to protect the identities of New York Knicks fans claiming to have seen Jordan inside an Atlantic City casino at 2:30 a.m.

Then again, maybe it’s more of a cultural defect than an institutional one. “In this country there is a segment of people who like to knock down heroes,” Bulls Owner Jerry Reinsdorf says.

All of which makes the life of a sports superstar, an NBA superstar in general and Michael Jordan in particular, unlike that of any other 20th century pop celebrity. Rock stars? No comparison. They don’t have to deal with the media before or after concerts and no one holds them to the kind of social standard that, by virtue of their occupations, applies to athletes. Besides, rockers are surrounded by security details and the entire show usually takes place above and beyond the grasp of fans. And how many do 82 dates a year complete with television, radio and newspaper reviews?

Movie stars? Even less of a comparison. Not only do they perform behind closed doors, but the most famous, like Jack Nicholson and Eddie Murphy, dictate the time if not the terms of interview sessions. They don’t have to sign autographs as they walk off the set or answer to their sleeping habits on the eve of a shoot. Indeed, they don’t have to answer anything other than talk-show lobs about their movies.

Football and baseball players? Not even close. Even the logical candidate, Barry Bonds, has never found it within himself to tolerate what Jordan, Magic and Bird dealt with every night or to completely accept the responsibility that goes with all that cash.

Jordan’s crime, assuming he’s guilty of one, might have been allowing too many too close, thus allowing fans and reporters to feel as though they have the right to judge every bit of his behavior whether it’s relevant to his performance or not.

“I think he’s bigger than anybody I’ve seen, including Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird with regard to the fanaticism,” says Brian McIntyre, the NBA vice president of public relations. “It’s a different kind of big with Michael. Magic, Bird and Shaquille (O’Neal), they draw phenomenal crowds, but there isn’t that frenzy surrounding their crowds that surrounds Michael’s. I’ve seen Muhammad Ali walk through an airport, and he develops a little trail behind him. I’ve seen Michael Jordan walk through an airport and people running behind him and jumping over chairs.

“Madonna can put on sunglasses and a lot of baggy clothes and she could be anybody walking down the street. But when you’re 6-6 you stand out. You see our guys. You’re close to them. Our sport is unique in that regard. You’re right on top of them.

“(And) there is a different standard. They are at the same level (as other celebrities) but without the insulation.”

None of this has been lost on Paxson. Short, slow, and underpaid, Paxson could be expected to want to become Jordan. But the thought of trading places leaves him cold.

“It borders on the obscene what he has to deal with,” says Paxson. “People say they would trade places with Michael for the money, but if they saw it day to day, they wouldn’t say that.

“I think it’s incredible how well he’s dealt with it. But I would not be shocked in the least if he leaves the game before his time. I would if I was him. In a heartbeat. It can’t be worth it.”

Though Reinsdorf and Krause don’t think off-court distractions would ever drive Jordan from the game, others, specifically Coach Jackson and veteran assistant John Bach, aren’t so sure. That’s one reason Jackson allowed Jordan all the time he needed before coming to camp last October.

“I think if a person had the opportunity to live 24 hours in Michael Jordan’s shoes and experience what he has to experience in just living, then they would understand a little bit about it,” Jackson says. “I could see Michael retire if it’s not enjoyable. I don’t want him to be able to say, ‘I could have done this but the media, the press, and the off-the-court recognition, the intrusion into my personal life was so great that eventually it wore me out.’ I’d like to help him avoid that.”

“He should be able to leave the game at his own call,” Bach says. “Will he do it earlier? I think he will certainly consider it. The invasions that take place in his life, the number of people he has to satisfy, he might easily say enough. It would be awful to see him pushed out early for the wrong reasons because it’s unbelievable how well he handles things.”

Through it all, Jordan might be the only one who has remained true to the process. What he does on the basketball court always has driven what happened beyond the game. That Jordan has constantly upgraded the experience while at the same time trying to live up to our expectations for him, should be enough. For Jordan it is.

“A lot of things could have changed my whole outlook,” he said before the Eastern Conference Finals. “The whole gambling things, the whole Isiah Thomas thing at the beginning, ‘The Jordan Rules,’ all that stuff could have soured my love for the game, but I look too deeply inside the game to find my love for it. All this stuff was extracurricular stuff. It really didn’t mean anything once I stepped out of the basketball court.

“I wouldn’t change anything, because I think it has made me a better player and better person. If I had the opportunity to change anything that has happened in my life, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Neither should we.