Jordan selling majority ownership stake in Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise announced Friday, leaving the 30-team NBA without any Black majority ownership.

Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.

It’s not clear how long the process of selling will take to be finalized by the NBA’s Board of Governors. Jordan plans to keep a minority stake in the Hornets, the team he bought in 2010 for about $275 million.

Jordan’s decision to sell ends his unsuccessful 13-year run overseeing the organization.

“In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, could become the principal governor of a team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month at the NBA Finals. “Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that is his decision.”

In that same news conference at the finals, Silver said the Board of Governors are focused on diversity in ownership groups.

“I would love to have better representation in terms of principal governors,” Silver said. “It’s a marketplace. It’s something that if we were expanding that the league would be in a position to focus directly on that, but in individual team transactions, the market takes us where we are.”

The sale price was not immediately announced; ESPN, citing sources, said the franchise was being valued at $3 billion. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that when struck in December valued that franchise at $4 billion.

Jordan declined comment on the sale through his spokesperson, Estee Portnoy.

For as great as Jordan was on the court — national champion at North Carolina, two-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time NBA champion and in the never-ending conversation for best player ever — the Hornets never reached a championship level during his time as the owner.

Charlotte went 423-600 in his 13 seasons in charge, the 26th-best record over that span. It never won a playoff series in that time and hasn’t even been to the postseason in the last seven seasons.

Other members of the new potential Hornets ownership group — pending the approval — are recording artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, Chris Shumway and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.

Charlotte has not won a playoff series since the 2001-02 season and has never won an NBA championship.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are promoting within to replace general manager Bob Myers, naming Mike Dunleavy Jr. as their new GM on Friday ahead of next week’s draft.

Owner Joe Lacob said when Myers announced May 30 he would leave when his contract was done at the end of June that the organization would strongly consider internal candidates.

The 42-year-old Dunleavy has worked closely under Myers since his move to the front office, serving as vice president of basketball operations the two seasons after two years as assistant general manager. He will begin his sixth season in a front-office role. Dunleavy became a pro scout for the Warriors in 2018 once he wrapped up his 15-year playing career during which he spent 2002 through part of ’07 with Golden State.

The Warriors selected him with the third overall draft pick in 2002 out of Duke.

“We think Mike is the perfect fit to lead our basketball operations department,” Lacob said. “He has a wealth of basketball knowledge, stemming from his family upbringing, a 15-year NBA playing career and five seasons serving under Bob Myers in our front office. He’s young and energetic, has established numerous relationships around the league and communicates well with players and coaches—all important traits in this business. Mike’s ready for this challenge and responsibility.”

Dunleavy has big shoes to fill and decisions to make with Myers leaving after the Warriors lost in the Western Conference semifinals to LeBron James and the Lakers following Golden State’s championship run last year.

Draymond Green has a $27.6 million player option and has said he’d like to stay with the core of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to help the Warriors chase another championship.