Former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan is selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, with reports noting as much breaking around a month ago
Jordan is reported to be expecting $3 billion from a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, who already own a minority stake in the team. The sale will end MJ’s 13-year run as majority owner and will also bring an end to the only black majority ownership in the NBA.
Plotkin and Schnall will become the franchise’s governors once the league completes a vetting process and approves the sale, so Jordan is still heavily involved and had input in the team’s choice during the recent NBA draft.
The 60-year-old isn’t walking away from the team completely as he will keep a minority stake and will still be present. He is anticipating some major bank as he paid $275 million for his minority stake in 2010 and will be selling for the aforementioned figure just 13 years later.
Plotkin is the founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital while Schnall is a co-president of the equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. They headed a group that purchased a minority stake in the team back in 2020.
Since news of the impending sale broke, the Hornets have drafted Brandon Miller out of Alabama after a 27-5 season that handed them the No.2 pick.
With new owners set to take over, there is optimism among fans as Jordan’s tenure as governor has been disastrous – Charlotte has been to the playoffs just three times since he took over. Sportsbooks could experience an influx in bets as more people could look to take advantage of North Carolina sports betting bonuses.
The safest Hornets bet would be on Miller winning the Rookie of the Year award. He’s currently 14/1 to win it, with Victor Wembanyama the obvious favorite at 8/11 after being drafted No.1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ Scoot Henderson is the second favorite at 7/2, as is Chet Holmgren, who was unable to play last season following a foot injury after being drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As to why Jordan is selling his stake, he hasn’t offered a reason. So it’s left to speculation.
There is a theory being floated around claiming the six-time NBA champion has decided to sell because he is broke.
The ‘Rico Knows’ YouTube channel recently explained that the GOAT has made some really costly choices in recent years.
His Airness has made some sound investments over the years and still rakes in millions every year from Nike’s Jordan Brand. But he lost $500 million after shorting GameStop stock in 2021.
The video game retailer was bet against by many wealthy investors but is still alive and well. Needless to say, the folks who opted to go the other way made some remarkable returns. As it turns out, Jordan ended up putting his money into the fire on Plotkin’s advice, with the latter reported to have lost seven billion.
The theory claims that MJ is selling his stake to pay off the debt he has accrued as a result of the loss as he has kept losing money off the GameStop decision. However, it has been rubbished by business journalist Joe Pompliano, who has pointed out that no one would ever lose such a sum on a short position in the market.
“The numbers make no sense, and it’s pure speculation based on Forbes lowering his net worth by $500M during the pandemic,” Pompliano wrote in response to a thread claiming MJ is selling the team because he is in dire financial straits. “There are no reputable sources, and no one would ever lose that much on a single short position lol.”
Pompliano also previously explained that Jordan only actually put down $25 million of his own money in cash when he bought the team in 2010. While previous owner Robert Johnson agreed to sell at a discounted $275 million, MJ was only required to put on a $170 million equity evaluation because the remaining $105 million mostly consisted of business debt.
Last week, Pompliano explained how His Airness is about to make $3 billion after only forking out $25 million when he purchased the majority share in the team.
Meanwhile, the Hornets shut their rookie down for Summer League amid questions over whether the franchise made the right decision selecting him second overall. The team announced that the 20-year-old would not be playing on the back of his debut, letting him join Wembanyama after the Spurs shut the Frenchman down after two games.
It appears this became a trend among the highest draft picks for this year as Henderson also found himself nursing an injury, having suffered a shoulder strain. Amen Thompson, the No. 4 overall pick sustained a sprained ankle.
Miller’s debut didn’t leave much cause for optimism either. The forward shot 35.4 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from long range after coming into the league with the reputation of being a sharpshooter. His debut had fans poking fun at Jordan for making another poor draft decision, which was quite unfair given Wemby’s own underwhelming debut. The Spurs big man shot 40.7 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three, averaging 13.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks in his two games.
There’s also the fact that MJ’s decision to draft LaAmelo Ball was not a bad one, though the youngster has been less available than fans would have liked.
Of course, Summer League is hardly a great barometer when it comes to rookie talent. But, given Jordan’s less-than-impressive record as a team owner, this was always going to happen. Thankfully, that will be the last time they have an opportunity to roast the man considered to be the best basketball player in the history of the game, as well as one of the least competent owners.
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