Michael Jordan closed the sale of the majority of his shares in the Charlotte Hornets this Friday and will cease to be president of this NBA franchise.
“As part of this transaction, Jordan will retain a minority ownership interest in the team,” the Hornets said in a statement. The operation, according to ESPN, has been around 3,000 million dollars.
Jordan had been negotiating the sale to a group led by Gabe Plotkin, who was already a minority shareholder in the Hornets, and Rick Schnall, who had a stake in the Atlanta Hawks, for about three months.
“Schnall is in the process of selling his investment in the Hawks, which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks,” said the same press release, confirming that both are now in charge of the Hornets.
The legendary former player was the only African-American who owned an NBA team and had become a majority shareholder in the Hornets in 2010, shelling out $275 million. However, the six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls has not had any luck in the offices.
The Hornets have only qualified for the playoffs three times since 2010, in all of them they lost in the first round and they have also gone seven consecutive seasons without playing the playoffs.
Charlotte was the second worst team this year in the East with a record of 27 wins and 55 losses, but in next week’s NBA draft it will have the second pick behind only the San Antonio Spurs who, in all probability, will choose the French prodigy Victor Wembanyama.
