Michael Jordan’s time as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets appears to be on the verge of coming to an end. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Jordan, who has held a majority stake in the franchise since 2010, is in the final stages of finalizing a deal that will see Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall take over the team. The news confirmed shortly after by the team.
Read the full release on https://t.co/BzkRIrrehy.
🔗 https://t.co/roYUH9ilgI pic.twitter.com/N17fYc0HBp
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 16, 2023
Both Plotkin and Schnall already have experience in NBA ownership, as Plotkin is currently a minority owner of the Hornets and Schnall is a minority owner of the Hawks. Jordan, meanwhile, is not going to completely leave Charlotte, as he will continue to hold a stake in the team. And in a release, the Hornets noted that the group of buyers will feature a number of minority owners, including J. Cole and Eric Church.
The Buyer Group will also include Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, Dyal HomeCourt Partners, North Carolina natives recording artist J. Cole and country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
The news of a sale comes right before one of the biggest days in recent Hornets history, as the team is slated to pick second in the 2023 NBA Draft and will have to, presumably, choose between G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson and Alabama forward Brandon Miller. But according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the team has been transparent with both prospects about a potential sale, and Jordan will be involved in the final pre-draft visits.
To my understanding, the impending sale of the Hornets is something Charlotte's front office has discussed with representation for Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller, but the team's plan has still been scheduling both prospects' return to visit with Michael Jordan on Monday.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 16, 2023
Jordan potentially selling a majority stake in the Hornets was first reported back in March.