Generally, we like the stuff written by ESPN Page 2’s LZ Granderson.  And his latest piece about former Chicago Bull Craig Hodges was different.  You can check here for that full article.  Granderson delivered this article in an interesting style that was clear, to the point, and a nice read.

Essentially, the article is about how Hodges, a deadly 3-point shooter, was unable to even get a tryout from any other NBA team after the Bulls cut him in 1992 at age 32.  Hodges filed a lawsuit against the NBA, claiming that the league “blackballed” him due to his outspoken nature about racial issues and criticism of the league and other players about their involvement in poor communities.

Granderson makes an excellent point in his article.  And although Hodges did not win his lawsuit against the NBA, the article at least makes you contemplate that Hodges’ theory of being blackballed has some validity.

But we have our own theory.  It wasn’t the NBA that kept Hodges from getting on with another NBA team - it was his Bulls teammate Michael Jordan.  Check out the following events and see if our theory does not hold at least a small amount of water.

—In the 1985 All-Star game, Pistons guard Isiah Thomas was upset with all the publicity given to MJ, then a rookie.  There is an unrefuted rumor about that game, that Isiah led his All-Star teammates to “freeze-out” Jordan by not passing him the ball.  Jordan took only 9 shots in the game, and neither he nor Isiah has ever said MJ was intentionally denied the ball.

—In the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, Isiah and his bunch of classless Pistons left the court with 7.9 seconds left in final game of the series in which they were swept by the Bulls.

—In 1992, Isiah was left off the Olympic Men’s Basketball team - the Dream Team - despite being one of the top players in the league.  The prevailing theory as to why Isiah was left off is that Michael Jordan hated him.  Between the freeze-out All-Star game and the playoff battles, MJ did not care for Isiah.  And by 1992, if Jordan did not want Isiah on the team, then Isiah would not be on the team.

Keeping all of the above in mind, we came across this story about Craig Hodges publicly calling out Jordan in 1992 (the same year he was cut).  Hodges had this to say about MJ:
“When they came to Michael after the L.A. deal went down and asked him what he thought, his reply was that he wasn’t really up on what was going on,” Hodges said. “I can understand that, but at the same time, that’s a bailout situation because you are bailing out when some heat is coming on you. We can’t bail anymore…  I’m not going to tell Michael what to do.  At the same time, I cannot go talk to young kids and not use Michael as an example of what is possible because he has so much and he has children in the palm of his hands.”

Hmmm, Isiah ticks off MJ and does not make the roster of the Dream Team.  Hodges calls out Jordan, his own teammate, for not speaking out on social issues while the season is going on and then is cut at the end of that season.

Any chance Jordan had a hand in Hodges inability to find work?  If the player who is the all-out poster boy for winning tells you that Hodges is not good in the locker room, would you want him on your team?  Who cares how many threes he can make in a game.  If Jordan gives Hodges the thumbs down, that goes a long way.

Don’t believe us?  Just ask Isiah how much pull MJ had back in the day.