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5 year oldNot since he stood over home plate with a baseball bat in his hands have we seen Michael Jordan look so ordinary.
The NBA GOAT is facing the biggest challenge of his professional life as he deals with the wreckage that is the playing roster of the NBA franchise he owns in Charlotte.
Make no mistake, Jordan’s venture into ownership has been a resounding success from a financial point of view. Forbes estimates the value of the team has increased by more than $1 billion since he became the majority owner in 2010.
But from an on-court standpoint it’s been a near-disaster. Jordan has had full control of the team’s basketball operations since 2006 and in that span the Hornets have made the playoffs just three times.
They were swept in the first round in 2010 and 2014 before coughing up a 3-2 series lead to Miami in 2016.
But that 48-win campaign is a distant memory as the franchise lurches to its darkest place since coughing up an embarrassing 7-59 record in 2012.
The Hornets net result from this week’s free agency period — which saw All-Star guard Kemba Walker leave for Boston and Celtics back-up Terry Rozier arrive as his replacement — has seen Jordan criticised like never before.
‘WORST OWNER IN ALL OF SPORTS’
New York Knicks owner James Dolan is widely known as the worst in the NBA but Jordan is beginning to earn unfavourable comparisons to a man who also struck out badly in free agency.
“I am his biggest fan as a player — (but) he has also turned into the worst owner-operator in all of sports, and I don’t think it’s even close,” Skip Bayless said on Undisputed.
“I don’t see any light at the end of their tunnel, I don’t see where they’re heading and I feel sorry for the people in Charlotte.”
“We don’t give attention to how bad an owner from the basketball side of things Michael Jordan has been since he took over the Hornets,” Fox Sports Radio host Jason Smith said.
“He has had 11 lottery picks and the only one that stuck has been Kemba Walker who he is now ready to move on from and start over.
“He has been terrible. In nine years they have made the playoffs twice and they’ve lost in the first round both times.”
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