The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, a source with knowledge of the sale confirmed to The Athletic on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The sale approval effectively ends Michael Jordan’s 13-year tenure as the team’s majority owner after he reached an agreement last month to sell his shares to the group led by Plotkin and Schnall.
- The sale has yet to be finalized, the source confirmed. This is expected to be the case in the coming weeks.
- Jordan will retain a minority stake in the team.
- The six-time NBA champion became the majority owner of the Charlotte franchise — then known as the Bobcats — in March 2010. He paid $275 million for the franchise.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What that means for the Hornets
This concludes a famous but largely forgotten chapter in Hornet history. Charlotte went 423-600 in Jordan’s 13 full seasons as the controlling owner — the .413 win ratio was the fifth-worst in the NBA at the time. They only made the playoffs twice and had just three successful seasons. There have been five different head coaches – with two stints from Steve Clifford. During his tenure as owner, the Hornets were best known for their small front offices and, more recently, their lack of spending, to the point that they’ve ranked in the bottom five payrolls for each of the past four seasons.
The new ownership group will take over at a potential tipping point for the franchise. Last month, they selected former Alabama star Brandon Miller as the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. They already have LaMelo Ball on the roster, who was an all-star by the time he was 20. This could be the start of a new and more prosperous era for the franchise if the rebuild goes well.
Nonetheless, Jordan’s loss is significant. After all, he’s Michael Jordan – one of the NBA’s greatest players and ambassador for the game. The NBA wants to include him.
“I don’t know where to start when it comes to Michael Jordan’s contributions to this league,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in March. “To be honest, not only as a player, but also because of the role he has played as governor over the past decade.” — Vorkunov
Who are Plotkin and Schnall?
Plotkin, the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC, has served as an associate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2019. He has held a minority stake in the Hornets franchise since 2019.
Schnall, the co-president of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, was a “significant minority owner” of the Atlanta Hawks.
backstory
Charlotte finished 14th in the Eastern Conference last season with a 27-55 record. The Hornets had just three wins in Jordan’s 13 years as majority owners.
required reading
(Photo: Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)