The Charlotte Hornets finished this year with a 33-39 mark and almost made the playoffs.
Between the largely promising on-court product that the team put out and the potential displayed by rookie LaMelo Ball, optimism surrounding Michael Jordan’s franchise has never been higher.
Which makes a report that came out this week all the more interesting.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Jordan’s ownership style hasn’t won him too many fans around the league.
“Jordan is criticized in league circles for his detached ownership style, and for filling his front office and executive leadership team with people from his personal network — although he is not unique on either point,” he wrote.
“He’s also taken flack for his faith in underperforming draftees like Adam Morrison, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Frank Kaminsky, and for backing the Hornets’ decision in 2017 to draft Malik Monk at No. 11 over Utah’s Mitchell, who went 13th to Denver and ended up with the Jazz after a trade.
“Jordan spends the bulk of his time in Florida and, until the November addition of Hayward, had not been very visible or effective as a free-agent recruiter, despite his obvious star power. Keeping a distance was certainly understandable this season, since the league’s extensive health and safety protocols would not allow him to interact with players and coaches unless he was testing daily for the coronavirus, but the Jordan glow can only be so tangible when he is not present.”
While Jordan’s ownership flaws are a matter of public record, it’s hard to argue that things are trending in the right direction.
Ayesha knows how to stay in the news https://t.co/shn4dxsmTZ
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 27, 2021
Between the type of relationship that Ball and Jordan have, and the camaraderie displayed by the current members of the roster, it feels like the future is bright in Charlotte.
If they start stringing together some winning seasons, expect the narrative around both Jordan and the franchise to change fairly rapidly.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
