Jordan Says Next Season Still An Option

March 20, 1998 / 9:16 PM EST / CBS/AP

Maybe Michael Jordan will be back after all.

Jordan said Friday he definitely wants to play next season, but he still wants coach Phil Jackson back, as well.

"I mean under certain circumstances," he said at a shootaround before the Bulls' game against Vancouver. "If I don't feel it's something I'm happy with, I certainly have alternatives."

While Jordan still loves the game, he's repeatedly said he won't play unless Jackson returns as Chicago's coach. But General Manager Jerry Krause has made it clear this season is Jackson's last with the Bulls. And Jackson once said that "wild horses couldn't drag me back."

So does that mean Jordan would follow Jackson to another team?

"Naaw," Jordan said. "I'm not weighing the options right now. There's no clear options on the table right now. I think everything now is speculation. For me to react to speculation is not really worth the energy."

At 35, Jordan is still the best player in the NBA. He leads the league in scoring (28.5 ppg) and has played in all 67 of Chicago's games. But this has not been an easy season, with Scottie Pippen missing the first 35 games after having surgery on his left foot and the fixation on Jordan and Jackson's future.

And Jordan knows it's only going to get worse as the season winds down.

"There's no way you can eliminate it. I think it could have been eliminated earlier in the season," he said. "But now you let the cat out of the bag and you have to deal with all the kittens."