Blog a Bull, a Chicago Bulls community

I know of at least one former Michael Jordan teammate who's convinced that Jordan wants to make an NBA comeback at 50 years old.

If that's true, His Airness has two years to find a buyer for the Charlotte Bobcats so he's eligible to play again.

Jordan practiced Thursday with the Bobcats -- one week before his 48th birthday -- and looked quite good according to co-captain Stephen Jackson.

"We should sign him," Jackson told me, adding that Jordan dunked "without any effort" and citing a sweet lefty finish on a post-up move as MJ's most memorable contribution to the workout.

Don't forget, though, that league rules preclude NBA owners from playing for their own teams without selling off their shares. Don't forget, furthermore, that Jordan (with the Wizards in 2001) and Magic Johnson (with the Lakers in 1996 and with yours truly as a first-year Lakers beat writer) were mere minority owners when they made their comebacks from the executive suite, making it a lot easier to find someone to buy them out.

You figure it would take Jordan at least two years to find someone willing to assume majority control of the Bobcats, given how long it took His Airness to assemble a deal to take over from founding owner Bob Johnson.

Bryant remembers when he sported an oversize Afro and the No. 8 and was eager to impress Michael Jordan, the player he most admired and respected. The first time they shared the floor in an all-star game more than 12 years ago, Bryant begged for a one-on-one duel with Jordan and angered Karl Malone by waving off a pick, all in an effort to make Jordan recognize that he was there.

"When I was in the league, younger, going against Michael in '98, it might have meant a lot to me, playing against him," Bryant said recently. "But he was thinking about a sixth championship. So we were both hunting; we were just hunting different things."