How bad was Michael Jordan as owner of the Charlotte Hornets?
After 17 years in ownership of the Charlotte Hornets, NBA legend Michael Jordan plans to sell his majority stake in the franchise.
According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Jordan plans to sell his majority stake to a consortium led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
Jordan bought his majority stake in 2010, securing the franchise for $275 million. The Chicago Bulls great will reportedly cash in a huge profit, selling the ball club for $ 3 billion.
Reports told Adrian Wojnarowski that Jordan is expected to keep a minority stake in the franchise and is expected to remain a presence within Charlotte's front office.
Jordan became the first NBA player to buy an NBA franchise, but his tenure hasn't gone the way he had planned.
From shocking seasons to missing out on gems, how bad was Michael Jordan's ownership of the Charlotte Hornets?
Naturally, as Jordan approached ownership in 2010, the basketball world assumed it would be a success, recruiting the most ruthless winner the sport has ever seen.
His tenure with Charlotte got off to a poor start, trading Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston, and the 19th pick of the 2011 draft for Corey Maggette and the seventh pick (Bismack Biyombo). Looking back, it wasn't exactly a blockbuster.
As well as Biyombo, Charlotte lucked out, drafting their future franchise star Kemba Walker. However, the 2011-2012 season was known for something completely different after Charlotte produced the worst record in NBA history with a 7-59 in the lockout season.
If you think it couldn't get any worse for Charlotte, it did. The worst team in NBA history missed out on the number one pick in 2012, losing out on getting Anthony Davis and instead drafting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at number two.
Charles Barkley famously called Jordan out for being surrounded by 'Yes men,' whether it was Jordan or the people around him making the decisions, their draft approach was terrible, drafting players like Frank Kaminsky over Devin Booker because of his NCAA record.
Since his first season in charge at Charlotte in 2010-11, The Hornets have put up a combined record of 423 wins and 600 losses with just three winning seasons.
Since his ownership started, the Charlotte Hornets have only made the NBA Playoffs in 2014 and 2016, losing to the Miami Heat on both occasions in the first round.
Since their last playoff appearance in 2016, Charlotte has not finished above ninth in the Eastern Conference, losing in the NBA Play-in tournament in previous seasons.
Last season was a mess for The Hornets, losing Miles Bridges due to off-the-court issues, James Bouknight having trouble with a firearm, and Charlotte missing star man LaMelo Ball for large parts due to injury.
The Hornets finished 27-55 record last season, finishing 14th in the East. Will this new ownership group invest and bring winning basketball back to Charlotte?