The timing of Michael Jordan’s decision to sell his majority ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets has left the organization in flux, with several looming key personnel decisions.
The Hornets have the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday. They also have some difficult decisions to make in free agency in early July, including whether to re-sign embattled restricted free-agent Miles Bridges.
On the surface, the No. 2 pick wouldn’t be a complicated one with the Hornets likely choosing between G League star Scoot Henderson and Alabama‘s Brandon Miller. However, trade rumors have been swirling around about the New Orleans Pelicans potentially being open to moving former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson in order to secure the second or third pick in the draft complicates things for the Hornets.
With the NBA’s Board of Governors unlikely to approve the team’s sale to an ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall until at least another month or two, the question becomes who’ll sign off on general manager Mitch Kupchak’s potentially franchise-altering decisions this summer?
Will it be Jordan, a lame-duck majority owner? Or will the new owners have a major input? Jordan will remain on as a minority owner after the sale is approved, so he still has a vested interest in the organization.
As a player, Jordan was a six-time NBA Finals MVP, a 14-time All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
He never approached that level of success as an owner, however. The Hornets were 423-600 in his 13 years as majority owner and never won a playoff series. Charlotte has failed to reach the playoffs for seven straight seasons, the longest drought in the NBA, and its three postseason appearances since 2006 is tied for the second-worst in the league.
That said, does the sale impact Jordan’s overall legacy?
“It’s got to count a little,” Nick Wright said on “First Things First.” “It [has] got to be a little part of the tapestry, or we have to take all the other stuff away and say we’re not talking about shoes or iconography or any of that stuff.”
“Basketball-wise he’s the worst in the league for [the past] 15 years.”
After finishing 7-59 in the 2011-12 season, the Hornets failed to land the No. 1 pick in the lottery and missed out on star center Anthony Davis. Charlotte settled for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2, passing on Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard.
The Hornets also selected Cody Zeller fourth overall in 2013 instead of Giannis Antetokounmpo or Steven Adams and swung and missed on top-10 picks Frank Kaminsky and Noah Vonleh in 2014 and 2015.
Jordan purchased the team for $275 million in 2010 and will sell his share for a reported $3 billion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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