Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan is in "serious talks" to sell his majority stake in the franchise, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Jordan is considering selling his stake to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin as well as Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall, according to the report.
A sale isn't close, however, if Jordan were to sell his majority stake, he would still remain a minority owner of the franchise. Jordan became the majority owner of the then Charlotte Bobcats in 2010, after purchasing the team for $275 million from former majority team owner Bob Johnson. Prior to that, Jordan had been a minority investor in the franchise dating back to 2006.
Since Jordan, the six-time NBA champion and Hall of Fame basketball player, became the majority owner of the Hornets, the team has struggled to find any consistent success on the court. In the 13 years that he's maintained majority ownership of the franchise, Charlotte has only appeared in the postseason twice, the last time being in 2016.
During Jordan's tenure as team owner, the Hornets have run through five different head coaches, have moved on from franchise cornerstone players like Kemba Walker and have missed on several draft prospects. However, in the last few years there has been a sliver of hope that the franchise was headed in he right direction after drafting LaMelo Ball in 2020. In Ball's three seasons he's managed to win Rookie of the Year and be named an All-Star in his second season. However injuries, including a fractured right ankle that ended his season back in February, has stymied any sort of forward progress for the franchise.
