Hornets sale approved by NBA Board of Governors
It appears that finally, Michael Jordan's 13-year run as owner of the Charlotte Hornets is over.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Hornets to The Buyer Group headed by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin on Sunday.
The purchase of the Hornets, reportedly for a $3B price tag, will become official within "one to two weeks,' but Jordan will retain a minority stake in the team.
Owners approved the sale by a 29-1 vote. A source told Wojnarowski that New York Knicks owner James Dolan was the only no-vote.
There's no other way to slice it. Jordan's tenure as owner of the Charlotte franchise wasn't good. Whether it was the Bobcats or the Hornets, Jordan's teams either underachieved or barely showed up. Charlotte posted only three winning seasons under Jordan, resulting in two playoff berths, both ending in first-round losses.
The list of mistakes with Jordan at the helm is a long one. From making the likes of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Frank Kaminsky, Noah Vonleh and Cody Zeller top-10 picks, to dealing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on draft day in exchange for Miles Bridges, the Hornets never seemed capable of getting it right with Jordan in charge.
Perhaps with new leadership and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller leading the way, the Hornets can begin to put the decade-plus Jordan era behind them.
While Jordan being out as top dog may be music to Hornets fans' ears, the NBA is now without an African American owner with a majority stake in one of the 30 teams.
Marcus J. Spears of andscape.com pointed out that only two people of color have majority ownership, including Vivek Ranadive (Sacramento Kings) and Joe Tsai (Brooklyn Nets).
However, the new Hornets ownership group is diverse, including rapper J. Cole and auto dealer Damian Mills, who are both black and Amy Levine Dawson.
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