NBC Denies Pistons Legend Of Employment As He Rallies Behind Michael Jordan’s $40 Million Role

John Salley was a “Bad Boy” Piston, the sworn enemy of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. But what his teammates didn’t know was that he was quietly hanging out with the enemy. “I would hang out with MJ,” Salley once revealed. “I loved—still to this day, I love him to death.” That secret friendship has lasted decades, so when Salley saw a chance to reunite with Jordan on NBC’s new broadcast team, he went for it. But in a brutal, public moment, that reunion was shut down.

Salley had been auditioning for a spot on NBC’s new, star-studded NBA broadcast team, a gig that would have put him right alongside Jordan. But in a brutal moment just before he went live on The Rich Eisen Show, he found out he didn’t get the job.

“They gave the job to Brad Daugherty and Tracy McGrady this morning,” Salley revealed, the disappointment clear in his voice. “Good for those guys. I’m I’m very happy for ’em.” It was a moment of pure class from a guy who had just been publicly denied a dream opportunity. Just hours later, NBC made it official, announcing that McGrady, a Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star, was joining their already stacked roster, where he’ll often team up with Carmelo Anthony and his cousin, Vince Carter.

But instead of dwelling on his own missed opportunity, Salley immediately shifted his focus to the one hire he is incredibly excited about: Michael Jordan. He believes MJ’s unfiltered, “killer” perspective is exactly what the broadcast needs. “Uh, it’s gonna be a lot of, ‘Yo, that boy sucks.’ Man, I don’t know how they paying that guy. I wouldn’t have paid him,” Salley said, perfectly imitating Jordan’s famously blunt style. “He’s 62 now. He’s gonna tell you what he thinks… his perspective is from a killer. So it’s gonna be really, really good.”

And it turns out, Salley’s prediction is spot on. According to a bombshell report from the Chicago Tribune, Jordan isn’t just coming back for a reported $40 million paycheck, he’s on a mission. He reportedly wants to dismantle the very “toxic narrative” his own flawless 6-0 Finals record has created.

An anonymous NBC producer told the Tribune that Jordan feels his legacy has been weaponized to unfairly diminish today’s stars, and he wants to set the record straight. It’s the kind of move only the GOAT could make, a power move that Shaquille O’Neal says is undeniable. “If you think Michael Jordan is hating, you’re a clown,” Shaq once said. “When the GOAT speaks, you listen.”

But while Jordan may be on a mission to change the conversation, he won’t be alone in the unfiltered-legend department. His old friend, and now rival, Charles Barkley, will be leading the competition over at ESPN, setting the stage for a new kind of battle.

The battle of the broadcasts: Michael Jordan vs. Charles Barkley

Folks, get your popcorn ready, because the biggest rivalry of the new NBA season won’t be on the court. It’ll be in the broadcast booth. For the first time ever, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, two of the biggest personalities the game has ever seen, are going head-to-head on competing networks. It’s a showdown that’s been brewing for years and might also be the final chapter in a legendary friendship that famously fell apart.

The two were once inseparable, the faces of the Dream Team and the biggest stars of their era. But their friendship fractured after Barkley, in his role as an analyst, criticized Jordan’s performance as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets. As Barkley has told the story, Jordan “cussed him out” and the two haven’t been close since.

Now, that old beef is about to become the hottest storyline in sports media. And according to Jordan’s former Wizards teammate, Tracy Murray, it’s going to be incredible television. “He is unfiltered, you know, which I like,” Murray said of Jordan, before drawing a direct comparison. “Charles Barkley is the same way. He’s entertaining. He’s unfiltered. You never know what he’s going to say.”

Barkley, for his part, has tried to downplay the rivalry. “We ain’t rivals. We’re all promoting the same sport,” he said recently. But for a competitor like Michael Jordan, who, as Murray said, “always wants to be the best at something,” it’s hard to imagine him not wanting to win this new battle. As the two legends prepare to take their respective thrones, the entire sports world will be watching, waiting for the first on-air shot to be fired.