Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
Jordan’s reign of mediocrity with the Hornets is finally over.
Michael Jordan is no longer the governor of the Charlotte Hornets. On Sunday night the NBA Board of Governors owners approved the sale of the Hornets to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin — a venture capitalist and hedge fund manager, who will now take ownership of the team with a surreal group of investors which includes country music star Eric Church and rapper J. Cole, both of whom are from North Carolina.
So ends the Jordan era, not with a bang, but the saddest of whimpers. A 13-year ode to incompetence, bravado, imagined dreams, and realized mediocrity.
The reboot of one of the NBA’s most-popular franchises has been mired in disappointment for pretty much the entire MJ era. It was Jordan who was supposed to bring the team back into prominence, rescuing the team from the horrendous ownership of Bob Johnson (who yes, seriously named the team the ‘Bobcats’ because they would be “Bob’s Cats”). Surely Jordan would use his basketball leverage and genius to bring about a teal and purple renaissance, right?
Instead, Jordan leaves with a tremendous bag and the team pretty much exactly where they were when he took over in 2010. A 34-48 record at the time of Jordan becoming majority owner has been replaced with 27-55 last season.
This isn’t how things were supposed to go, but how they were destined to go. The unparalleled brilliance of Michael Jordan on the court is only matched with his stunning ineptitude in the front office. I’d be remiss not to mention that Jordan did change the name from “Bobcats” to “Hornets,” and in doing so restored some of the team’s soul — but the name did nothing to create a quality team. Charlotte is on their sixth coach in 13 years, only been to the playoffs twice (losing in the opening round on both occasions), and still struggle to put an exciting brand of basketball on the floor despite having one of the league’s most electric point guards in LaMelo Ball.
A huge part of this was Jordan’s vice-like grip on basketball operations. Taking over basketball ops in 2006 as a minority owner, it’s almost impossible to fathom the amount of damage Jordan has done from a personnel perspective.
Selected Adam Morrison has his marquee first round pick in 2006.
Selected Brandan Wright in 2007, seemingly because he went to UNC.
Took D.J. Augustin in 2008, with a ludicrous idea that Augustin and Raymond Felton could work together in the backcourt
THEN he gave up a future 1st round pick to select French prospect Alexis Ajinca in the 2008 draft.
After finally hitting on Kemba Walker in 2011, Jordan followed up by taking Michael-Kidd Gilchrist with the No. 2 overall pick in 2012 — passing on Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard.
We still have YEARS of bad picks left, and it hurts too much to even look anymore — so here’s a quick list of first round whiffs: Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, Malik Monk.
Free agency has been pretty hilarious too, signing an unmotivated Nicholas Batum to a 5 year, $120M contract and adding the perennially injured Gordon Hayward.
Jordan’s reverse Midas touch as an owner knowed no bounds. Finally realizing he didn’t have the ability to spot talent, Jordan quietly handed over basketball operations to Mitch Kupchak, hired following his run with the Lakers.
Kupchak is far from perfect, but at the very least he’s managed to find draft success since taking over in 2018, selecting Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball and P.J. Washington — the only bright spots the team has seen. Then, as Jordan’s parting gift to the franchise he assumed control of the draft for one last time in 2023, selecting Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson. Time will determine if Jordan still has it (being ass at picking players that is).
The thing that hurts so much about the Jordan ownership era is how much I love Michael Jordan. The man is my basketball childhood. He’s the reason I accidentally went to the wrong college. As horrible as he was as an owner, hope sprang eternal every single year because the mythos of Jordan, those tendrils of greatness from my formative years, they seemed to always make me think believe he was capable of change. Surely he was brilliant but there was an external force at play that made his picks garbage, right?
It was an abusive sports relationship I was trapped in.
When you’re a fan of North Carolina professional sports there’s no shortage of owners to hate. George Shinn took the Hornets and moved to New Orleans for no other reason than he had an affair. Jerry Richardson gave us football, but also turned out to be a droopy hound dog with a penchant for sexual harassment. Still, it’s the people closest to you who can hurt you the most. The people who manipulate you, damage you, destroy your hopes and dreams from the inside.
That’s what Michael Jordan did to me as owner of the Hornets. He destroyed my love of a team without me even realizing it. Now he’s gone, and I see clearly: The worst owner I’ve ever had of a team I love. Sure, he wasn’t a reprehensible off-court dirtbag, but his bravado and ego helped ensure that one of the most beloved and exciting teams in sports would be an oft-forgotten footnote in the NBA.
Maybe I’ll learn to love again, but for now I need some me-time. I’ll never forget the good times with the legendary Bulls player Michael Jordan, but I need sports therapy for his time as the owner of the Hornets.
