House-cleaning on the horizon for Hornets?
Dec 23, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) reacts against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. The Hornets defeated the Lakers 134-130. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Jordan is officially on his way out in Charlotte, and some of the Hornets’ other top decision-makers might just be next.
Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer reports this week that there is an idea in NBA circles that the 2023-24 campaign could be the last for the Hornets’ leading personnel. Fischer notes that Charlotte GM Mitch Kupchak and head coach Steve Clifford each have just one guaranteed season left on their respective contracts with the team.
The report comes after Jordan, Charlotte’s longtime majority owner, agreed last month to sell his stake in the franchise to a group led by Gabe Plotkin (a Hornets minority owner) and Rick Schnall (a minority owner in the Atlanta Hawks). Jordan is receiving a very large sum for his controlling stake, which he paid $275 million for in 2010 back when the team was still known as the Charlotte Bobcats.
Charlotte has been a calamity for virtually Jordan’s entire tenure. They have made just two playoff appearances in the last decade (both first-round exits) and have produced only one winning season since 2016. The Hornets have also struck out on countless lottery picks (like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh, and Frank Kaminsky). While the team struck gold with LaMelo Ball in 2020, they followed that up by drafting another bust (at least to this point) in James Bouknight and then drafting a player this year with countless red flags in Brandon Miller.
With that kind of track record, it would not be shocking if Plotkin and Schnall wanted to start fresh and be able to hand-pick their own personnel. Hornets fans are extremely disappointed with the direction of their team right now, and it looks like a hard reset may soon be coming in Charlotte.
