Michael Jordan's trusted front office ally makes feelings clear on NBA legend's handling of $1.7 billion Hornets 

Former LA Lakers and Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak shared details about Michael Jordan's decision to sell the latter after nearly 10 years running the franchise. Jordan wasn't as successful as an executive as he was during his playing days, but still made a lot of money when he decided to sell the franchise.

Kupchak joined NESN's "Hold My Banner" show with Travis Thomas and Ountae Campbell to discuss several topics on Friday, including the failed Chris Paul trade to the Lakers and his relationship with Kobe Bryant. He also touched on his time working with Jordan and how close they became.

"He's fiercely competitive still, he lives in Florida, I've gone down and I've played golf with him. We would meet about the Hornets all day, like on a Tuesday, then on a Wednesday. He built the golf course, so we would go play golf on his golf course and then have dinner afterward."

Kupchak suggested that perhaps the different mentality between players from this era and Michael Jordan's played a role in His Airness deciding to sell most of his stake and see other people try to lead the Hornets to a championship.

"I'm not sure if that bothered him or not, but he did decide to sell the team and I believe he still has a small portion of the team and when I took this job, I knew, at least he told me he was going to look to sell the team down the road. I think it came a couple of years earlier than I thought, so I know that was a part of his plan, but he's old school. I'm not sure he would fit into today's player and the way it is today," Kupchak said. [35:00 mark]

When did Michael Jordan sell the Charlotte Hornets?

After 13 years as the majority owner of this team, Michael Jordan sold the Charlotte Hornets to Gabe Platkin and Rick Schnall for $3 million. He initially kept his reasons to sell the team to himself, but in August 2023, MJ revealed he intended to spend more time with his family while exploring other business ventures.

He started increasing his stake in the team in 2010 until he became the first former NBA player to become the majority owner of a franchise four years later. He couldn't replicate his success as a player but still tried to make the team competitive.