Opinion: Michael Jordan Is A Terrible NBA Owner

Michael Jordan is indisputably the greatest basketball player of all time. However, as a NBA owner, he has a history of poor decisions that is hard to defend. Let’s take a look of some of his biggest mistakes as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets that show that Jordan is a terrible NBA owner.

Poor drafting

The Hornets are known far and wide for their terrible drafting skills. It seems like every time they get to choose the future of their franchise they go for the worst possible choice. 

For example, in 2012, when they were still known as the Charlotte Bobcats, they lost the number 1 draft pick to the New Orleans Hornets. That year New Orleans picked Anthony Davis as their next great player. 

However, even with the number 2 pick, Charlotte failed to choose among a pool of talents that included Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, and Draymond Green. Who did they pick instead? Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. What a wasted opportunity. 

The history of the Charlotte Hornets is filled with these poor draft choices that show that management is not interested in the future of the franchise. 

Another infuriating one is when then-coach Steven Clifford wanted to draft Donovan Mitchell in 2017 but general manager Rich Cho overruled him and drafted Malik Monk instead. Just terrible. 

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Disappointing results

The Charlotte Hornets are also one of the worst teams in terms of results in the entire NBA. They haven't made the playoffs since the 2015-2016 season when they lost in the first round against the Miami Heat. 

But hold on, it gets worse. Did you know that this team has not won a playoff series since 2001? The last time they won was against the Orlando Magic and they lost in the Conference Semifinals against the Nets. 

The Hornets are one of two teams in the NBA that have never made the Conference Finals, the other is the New Orleans Pelicans. Truly awful results. 

And sure, maybe it is unfair to blame Michael alone for these results, but remember: in his 14 seasons as an owner the Hornets have only made the playoffs 3 times. 

Jordan let his best player go 

Arguably one of the worst decisions he has made in recent times, Jordan let Kemba Walker go, the most successful player the Hornets had seen in years, purely out of greed. 

Walker was eligible for a five-year super-max contract worth $220m, and even though he would have accepted 190 million, Jordan’s office low-balled him with an offer that was “nowhere near close” to that number. 

Ultimately, this was done to save money, but Jordan has cut costs in the past many times in order to keep his team profitable but unsuccessful. The Hornets are the only team in NBA history that has never paid the NBA luxury tax, additional fees that need to be paid if the salary cap is exceeded. This shows that the desire to maintain a profitable enterprise comes before the desire to create a championship-winning team for the GOAT.