The Charlotte Hornets are slowly moving on from the Michael Jordan regime.
It has still been only a year since the hoops legend sold his majority stake to the ownership group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin. However, the move has been showing early signs of promise, as the team has several promising players and an upstart coaching staff to lead them.
While Jordan's tenure as Hornets owner has incited polarizing reactions from NBA circles, some of the latest decisions he oversaw, including the drafting of LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, and Brandon Miller, have the potential to change the franchise's course for the better down the line.
Mark Cuban says being an NBA owner is harder for superstars
Of course, "His Airness" had the support of some folks among the Hornets faithful.
On the other hand, a significant chunk of the fan base heaved a sigh of relief when he exited the organization because of Charlotte's lack of success during his tenure as the majority owner (2010-2023). The two playoff appearances in that span left a lot to be desired for sure.
There are various reasons for Jordan's "failed" ownership stint. Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban believes it may have boiled down to the Chicago Bulls icon having a narrow mindset stemming from his time as a basketball superstar.
Cuban discussed the matter in an appearance on Shannon Sharpe's podcast, "Club Shay Shay" (at 44:17), when he and Sharpe discussed LeBron James' aspirations of one day owning an NBA franchise.
The businessman said, "It's going to be a lot harder for a player. We saw Michael Jordan, right? Great guy, had some success but not as much as he wanted, right? It's hard because players have one mindset and then look at other players in a certain way."
It's unclear how accurate Cuban's assertion is, but many of Jordan's questionable draft selections, free agency signings, trades, and financial decisions had the Hornets reeling from season to season.
Cuban also didn't appear to dissuade NBA players from trying to take on a front office role in the future. However, he did emphasize his belief that "not the great players" are likely to succeed more in such capacities because role players have a better understanding of identifying and matching roster pieces than superstars do.
Still, James likely won't back down from his dream, the fulfillment of which would make him just the second former NBA player to become a majority owner of one of the league's franchises after Jordan. Interestingly, the Los Angeles Lakers star may have some competition in that race as Golden Warriors star and Charlotte hometown hero Stephen Curry also stated his ambition of becoming an owner.
Maybe the Team USA buddies can join forces and combine their finances to achieve their goals. Hornets fans are probably hoping, though, that they would steer clear of the Hive.