During his playing career in the NBA, Michael Jordan was a 6-time NBA champion, beyond successful, to say the least. So, when he bought a majority stake in the Hornets for $180 million in 2010, he was obviously looking to win quite a bit. However, in 13 years, there have been 5 head coaches (Steve Clifford has been hired twice, so really, it’s 4), 2 postseason appearances, and no NBA championship.
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So, does Michael Jordan still own this franchise? Or has he already sold it to whoever wants to try their hand next on this faltering franchise?
Michael Jordan is looking to sell most of his stake for a booming profit
It wasn’t like Michael Jordan didn’t do absolutely anything for this franchise. When he bought his majority stake in it, the franchise was valued at $287 million. That may sound like a lot at first. However, in reality, it was valued lower than the $300 million previous owner Bob Johnson paid for it. However, today, despite their losing seasons, the team is now valued at $1.3 billion. Though it is important to mention, the brilliance of the team’s star point-guard, LaMelo Ball has a hand in this too.
So, needless to say, Michael Jordan is set to make a booming profit if he sells his stake completely. However, it appears that the man hasn’t completely lost his faith in this franchise. As per reports, Jordan is set to retain a minority stake in the franchise.
What he is looking to do, is sell the majority stake to current minority owners, Gabe Plotkin, and Rick Schnall. Both men are massive entrepreneurs, with Plotkin even having founded Melvin Capital. But more importantly here, both these individuals know how an NBA franchise needs to be run. After all, Plotkin has been the minority owner of the Hornets for a long time, while Schnall has done the same for the Hawks.
It is important to mention here, that along with Plotkin, Michael Jordan had also sold a minority stake to Daniel Sundheim, a co-founder of DI Capital. However, it is unclear whether he will join Plotkin and Schnall in having a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets.
ESPN Sources: Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan is engaged in serious talks to sell a majority stake in the franchise to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall. pic.twitter.com/jg03W25s49
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 16, 2023
This deal is set to happen very soon, as per reports. But will this result in the betterment of the franchise overall? Will the Hornets finally have a sustained spell of competence, despite their 22-49 record, this season? And if they do get better, how will it reflect on Michael Jordan’s legacy as an owner?
