CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The timing of Michael Jordan’s decision to sell his majority ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets has sent the organization under constant shake-up, with several key personnel decisions looming large.
The Hornets have the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night. They also have some tough decisions to make in free agency in early July, including whether to re-sign embattled free agent Miles Bridges.
With the NBA board of directors unlikely to agree to selling the team to an ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall until at least another month or two, the question becomes who will sign off on General Manager Mitch Kupchak’s potentially franchise-changing decisions this summer.
Will Jordan be the owner of the majority of the lame duck? Or will the new ownership have major inputs? Jordan will remain a minority owner after the sale is approved, so he still has a vested interest in the organization.
ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks said the timing of the announcement makes this an unusual situation.
“Whether Mitch or Michael is making the decisions, I think you have to keep those people out of the loop’s new ownership group,” Marks said. “…at the end of the day, they don’t have a technical say on anything yet, but I think they have to be part of the conversation, especially when it comes to getting paid in the future.”
On the surface, the No. 2 pick wouldn’t be complicated, as the Hornets will likely choose between J-League star Scott Henderson and Alabama’s Brandon Miller.
But Marks said the trade rumors swirling around the New Orleans Pelicans potentially being open to moving former No. 1 Zion Williamson to secure the second or third pick in the draft complicate things for the Hornets.
Essentially, does a trade that has long-term implications fit into the new ownership?
“If they have a chance of getting out of the signatories, what happens when you have your paycheck extending this year, which means money out of their pockets? I think you’re going to want to have (the new ownership group’s) blessing before taking money like that,” Marks said.
ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy agrees.
“I suspect there will be talks about who they want to draft him and sign him before anything is done,” Van Gundy said.
Marks and Van Gundy both believe the toughest decision ahead is to re-sign Bridges.
A former first-round selection out of Michigan State, Bridges had his breakout season in 2021-22. He led the team in scoring and rebounding and appeared on the verge of hitting a big win this past summer Before a felony domestic violence charge postpone his career.
It ended up being 25-year-old Bridges No dispute of the charges She agreed to three years of probation. He missed all of last season.
The NBA ultimately decided that Bridges would Suspension of 10 matches Once he returns to the league. The league officially suspended him for 30 games, but determined that the 20-game suspension had lapsed because Bridges had already missed 82 games in 2022-23.
“In terms of the new owners, you have to wonder, is this what you want your first signing to be?” Marx said.
Van Gundy added, “There is more to that (the decision) than just basketball.”
Van Gundy believes the Hornets are in good hands regarding personnel decisions with Kupchak leading. He believes that both Jordan and the new owners will rely heavily on the opinion of longtime GM going forward during this transitional period.
As a player, Jordan was a six-time NBA Finals MVP with the Chicago Bulls, a 14-time All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He is in conversation as the greatest basketball player of all time.
But he never came close to this level of success as an owner. The Hornets were 423-600 in his 13 years as majority owner and have never won a playoff series. Charlotte failed to reach the playoffs seven consecutive seasons, the longest drought in the NBA.
However, Van Gundy said he was surprised when reports first surfaced that Jordan was looking to sell the team.
“He always aspired to be a hands-on owner,” said Van Gundy. “I know he has hunting and auto racing that he’s into, but I still didn’t expect him to get out of the NBA. And yet he looks like he’s going to make a decent profit, and that’s very good for him.”
Jordan bought the team for $275 million in 2010 and will sell it for $3 billion.
“I won with Michael Jordan the player,” Van Gundy added. “That kind of player is going to make you an elite player for a long time. You see it with (Nikola) Jokic. It’s hard to get those players, and when you do that, you’re set up for a long period of time. … But the Hornets, they’ve missed out on some high recruiting picks.”
After finishing 7-59 in the 2011-12 season, the Hornets failed to capture the top spot in the lottery and lost star quarterback Anthony Davis. Charlotte chose Michael Kidd Gilchrist as the runner-up, skipping Bradley Bell and Damien Lillard.
The Hornets also selected Cody Zeller fourth overall in 2013 over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Adams, and swung and missed top 10 picks Frank Kaminski and Noah Fonleigh in 2014 and 2015.
“It’s about the list, the list, the list,” Van Gundy said. “The most important person in every organization is the person who selects the players.”
And the owner who signs for them.
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