Despite Michael Jordan’s ownership of the Charlotte Hornets set to end soon, the NBA legend is still expected to make one last major decision for the franchise before he leaves.
Last week it was reported that after taking over majority ownership of the Charlotte Hornets in 2010 for just $275 million, Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan had decided to sell his majority stake in the team for $3 billion. The move had been rumored for weeks and was long expected. Yet, Jordan’s impact on the organization is far from over.
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The Charlotte Hornets were a disaster in 2022-2023. After nearly making the playoffs a year ago, the team took a massive step back as top star LaMelo Ball dealt with injuries and Miles Bridges was away from the team after major off-the-court drama during the previous offseason. It is why they landed in the NBA lottery and scored the second pick overall on Thursday night.
There has been a great deal of speculation over what the team does with the pick, with trading out of it for a horde of assets and a star player being a leading option. However, if they do hold on to the pick, only one person will have the final say on if they take Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller: Soon to be former owner Michael Jordan.
Charlotte Hornets to let outgoing owner Michael Jordan decide who the team drafts at No. 2
On Wednesday, Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak had a pre-NBA Draft press conference and discussed the team’s plans for the 2023 event, which included the fact that the organization probably won’t make a firm decision on the pick until Thursday.
However, one interesting nugget of intel that came out of the presser (via Charlotte Hornets beat writer Rod Boone) is that Michael Jordan will have the final say on who the team takes at No. 2 overall instead of the new majority ownership group led by long-timer minority owner Gabe Plotkin.
This is a very big moment for the Charlotte Hornets, and it is a bit surprising they will allow the soon-to-be former team boss who had very little success during his decade-plus leading the team to make a decision that could affect them for years to come.