As an NBA player, Michael Jordan's performance was beyond reproach. The same certainly can't be said for his work as an NBA executive.

Let's review: In 3½ seasons running the Wizards -- he unofficially maintained front-office control during his two years as a player -- Washington was 110-179. His first coaching hire was University of Miami coach Leonard Hamilton, who resigned after the Wizards went 19-63 in his first season in 2000-01. Jordan then selected Kwame Brown with the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft. Brown, who was picked ahead of Tyson Chandler (No. 2) and Pau Gasol (No. 3), was a bust in D.C. and was traded to the Lakers in August 2005. By then, Jordan was gone, unceremoniously fired by Wizards owner Abe Pollin just weeks after ending his final comeback in 2003.

Jordan got another chance in June 2006 when he became part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, with whom he would have final say on personnel decisions. The Bobcats, an expansion team in 2004, were coming off a 26-56 season but were loaded with young talent such as Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Raymond Felton and Sean May. And thanks to their frugality under former coach/GM Bernie Bickerstaff, the Bobcats were also flush with about $20 million in salary-cap space when Jordan assumed control.

But much like his tenure in Washington, Jordan's personnel moves have been puzzling:

• Seeking an established scorer, Jordan gave up the rights to the eighth pick in the 2007 draft (Brandan Wright) for shooting guard Jason Richardson, who came to Charlotte with a career scoring average of 18.3 points as well as $51 million remaining on his contract. Through Tuesday, Richardson was averaging 16.1 points and shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 59.6 percent from the free throw line.

• He handed Gerald Wallace a six-year, $57 million contract, giving the small forward the same salary this season as the Mavs' Josh Howard.

• He hired another rookie coach in Sam Vincent.

• He drafted Adam Morrison with the third overall pick in 2006, ahead of Rudy Gay and Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy. (Morrison is out for the year with a knee injury, as is May, whose chronic knee woes make him a question mark to return at all.)

• He grossly overpaid for backup shooting guard Matt Carroll (six years, $27 million) and signed off on the bizarre three-year, $17.4 million offer sheet to restricted free agent Anderson Varejao, a contract the Cavs quickly matched.

• And last week, Charlotte traded struggling starting center Primoz Brezec and forward Walter Hermann (who both have expiring contracts) to the Pistons for reserve center Nazr Mohammed, who is owed $20 million over three years after this season.

The results of Jordan's wheeling and dealing have been mediocre at best. Charlotte won 33 games in 2006-2007. After a 6-4 start this season, the Bobcats have lost eight of their last 10 games, a skid that prompted Jordan to practice with the team Tuesday. Charlotte is the second-worst scoring team in the league (91.9 points per game) and ranks 28^th in field-goal-percentage defense (46.8).

Fans are staying away in droves (Charlotte is drawing 13,949 a game). The Bobcats also have gobbled up most of their salary-cap flexibility and are faced with the possibility of losing Okafor, who reportedly rejected an extension worth $12 million a year last offseason.

Moreover, there may be some discord in the Charlotte front office about the direction of the team.

"They are in disarray," said a league source familiar with the Bobcats. "They don't know whether they want to build the team or try to win now. I don't understand the Mohammed trade; it doesn't make them much better in the short term or long term, when they have to take on that salary."

The Mohammed trade raised eyebrows throughout the league.

"It was a very good deal for Detroit," another league source said. "Nazr wasn't doing anything and it saves them $20 million. The thing about Joe Dumars is that he makes mistakes, on draft picks and free agents, but he isn't afraid to fix them. He knew Brezec was soft, but it wasn't too long ago that Brezec was a decent player. And [Brezec and Hermann] can both play in spots. Brezec can play against a team with bigs like Miami and New York, and Hermann can play against [Bulls forward Andres] Nocioni [who has had some big games against Detroit]."

Jordan is faced with an uphill climb if he hopes to guide the Bobcats to respectability. As a player, he would be up to the task. As an executive, we're not so sure.