Can this three-headed Basketball beast eventually transform the floundering Charlotte Bobcats into an entertaining commodity that is a playoff monster?

Certainly, says the wanderlust-filled coach. Absolutely, agrees the billionaire owner. The Ultimate Competitor, who did not make himself available for this story, undoubtedly would concur.

While the jury remains out, the coach and the majority owner would like to see Jordan in the home arena more often. Rather than the face of the franchise, the man known as MJ has been more of a shadow since his involvement began 2 1/2 years ago as part-owner and managing partner of Basketball operations.

"I came only because of Michael -- I love the guy," says Brown, the owlish 68-year-old perfectionist coach. "This is, by far, my biggest challenge."

The crooked-shooting Bobcats have lost four of their last five games. Most recently, they misfired on their first nine shots at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, trailed 15-0 and lost 100-83. "It looked basically like the varsity scripting plays against a rec-league team," Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace told reporters.

Empty seats were everywhere.

No MJ, either.

Johnson, asked this week if he knew of Jordan's whereabouts, cryptically replied, "Ah, you know, I know where he is, but I probably shouldn't say."

Try Dubai.

Brown, the Bobcats' third head coach in three years, is solicitous, not upset, when he wants his fellow Tar Heel around all the time.

"I just want Michael really, really, really involved," he says. "The players need to see him because of what he accomplished. I talked to him about it. He told me he was going to be here for eight days to start the season."

Indeed, His Airness landed briefly -- then took flight. Six games into the new season, the global icon was gone. He was off to see his sons play hoops, then make an overseas jaunt. Jeff Jordan, 20, is a walk-on sophomore at Illinois. Brother Marcus, 17, is a high school senior in Chicago.

A Jordan assistant sent an e-mail to USA TODAY. "With his travel schedule and the holiday season upon us, I don't expect he will be back (in Charlotte) before December," meaning Jordan would miss at least the next seven home games.

"My competitive nature is such that I want to check in (the game). I want to be animated ... to yell," Jordan recently told the Charlotte Observer of his previous reluctance to sit near the bench.

The Bobcats have a general manager (Rod Higgins) and a player personnel director (Buzz Peterson) for day-to-day chores. But Johnson relies on Jordan to resurrect pro hoops hysteria in a hotbed of college Basketball, pro football and stock car racing.

Jordan, 45, and Johnson, 62, are partners in a number of business ventures. Jordan has said he wants controlling interest of the club, if/when Johnson sells.

"He has a demanding responsibility running his Jordan Brand corporation, as well as other businesses," says Johnson, who founded Black Entertainment Television and sold it for $3billion in 2000. But "Michael is committed to the Bobcats. There's probably not a day that goes by where Michael is not engaged with Rod or Larry in talking about (player) moves."

In the meantime, a pinched economic climate has made things more difficult for the Bobcats. Before the season, Johnson slashed about 40 jobs from the marketing and business staffs. However, money continues to flow into Basketball operations.

Hornets paved way

It wasn't always this way.

In the 1990s, the then-Charlotte Hornets were Eastern Conference contenders boasting sellout crowds. The owner, George Shinn, became unpopular, in part because of a sexual assault civil lawsuit brought against him, a case he won but that also revealed his separate relationship with a Hornets cheerleader.

As the team deteriorated, Shinn struggled to find political and public support for a new arena and eventually relocated the franchise to New Orleans for the 2002-03 season.

Charlotte was sans-NBA for two years before the expansion Bobcats began play in 2004. Although they enjoy a state-of-the art facility that opened in 2005, success has not followed at the box office nor on the court. Johnson has lost millions.

The Bobcats -- 112-226 in four-plus seasons -- have never posted a winning record.

This season, ticket sales are down, as are sponsorship and advertising, Johnson says. The Bobcats are off to another slow start (3-7 entering tonight's game at the Atlanta Hawks). Home attendance is off 9% to an average of 13,040, leaving the Bobcats 27th among the 30 teams. Last season, they were 24th.

"We have to give fans a reason to come out," Wallace says.

Creating a new buzz in the Hornets' old city is one reason why Brown and Johnson asked Jordan to become less invisible. The superstar paid $64,500 for two floor seats.

"I definitely think it matters when Michael Jordan is around," Bobcats forward Jared Dudley says. "I mean, he's Michael Jordan. He's the face of this organization -- the face of the NBA."

MJ sightings were unusual until this season; Johnson and Fred Whitfield, the Bobcats president and chief operating officer, urged Jordan to show his face. "Nine times out of 10, if he can fit it into his schedule, he's going to be there helping us out," Johnson says.

William Kennady, a season ticketholder, is befuddled by Jordan's reluctance to be more than what many perceive -- an absentee executive who seems more of a globe-hopping icon than a roll-up-the-sleeves administrator.

"I don't get it," Kennady says. "All he has to do is show up and 5,000 more people (come). If he's invested in this team and he wants things to get better, he needs to be present. If he doesn't want to be involved, go away."

Jordan tries again

Five years since his last tongue-wagging slam-dunk, Jordan has yet to have the same success as an administrator. His first tenure began with the Washington Wizards in 2000 as part owner in charge of Basketball operations. He later unretired and played for two more years.

It ended badly. Jordan made the wrong first pick in the draft (Kwame Brown) and hired the wrong coach (Leonard Hamilton), among other issues. When he retired yet again, he assumed he would return full time to the front office in 2003. He was fired.

In Charlotte, Jordan's first major moves were greeted with skepticism, including the drafting of Adam Morrison third overall in 2006 and the hiring of coach Sam Vincent, who was fired after one season. Brown says Jordan's personal needs can be balanced with the demands of his NBA job.

"He's at a time in his life where he has accomplished everything, so he deserves to be able to go out and hit a golf ball," he says.

The Bobcats are getting plenty of advice from their coach. With his 11th pro team, Brown harps on playing smarter, passing more and rebounding and defending with a vengeance. He laments a lack of athleticism and a big man to complement Emeka Okafor.

"There were a couple of players I mentioned to our organization," Brown recalls. "Their first response was, 'They can't play.' I said, 'Whoa. If I'm going to be the coach, you've got to try to get the players I feel I can coach -- or let someone else do it.' ... (But) I want to see this thing through."

Brown is notoriously tough on point guards, and his project is rookie D.J. Augustin, who, with Morrison, realizes why the coach has won more than 1,000 NBA games. "He's a stickler on details," he says. "I've never played for a Hall of Fame coach, but everything's got to be done right."

Brown is eager to dismantle the roster. The team didn't make many offseason moves, leaving him more than slightly vexed.

"You know, there are six guys who might not be on our team in two, three weeks. ... Michael's got to be the guy who we can get in an instant," Brown says, snapping his fingers, "to make a decision to help our team. He told me the other night he would watch us (on TV). He said, 'Do you want me to call you after it's over so you can vent?'"

Brown laughs. "I guess Michael knew something I didn't know."

Yep. The Bobcats lost.